A SUMMER'S TOUR 



IN EUROPE, IN 1851: 



IN A SERIES OF LETTERS, 



ADDRESSED TO THE 



EDITORS OF THE CHARLESTON COURIER. 



BY 

"A TRAVELLER." 

y. ■ 



Sr s 




CHARLESTON: 

WALKER AND JAMES. 

1852. 



CHARLESTON: 

STEAM POWER-PRESS OF WALKER AND JAMES, 

101, 103 and 105 East-Bay. 






PREFACE. 



Thf fob Letters, original!,, published in the Charleston Courier, 

in the course of the last Summer, it r,-w republished, at the request of 
some of the partial friends ot the wri f •*- ho are desirous of possessing 
them in a more convenient form than thai J ed in the columns of a 

newspaper. This request has been the mo' dily acceded to by him, 
in the hope that they might be founc. useful, in the way of reference, 
to other tourists who may have occasion to pass over the same route. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 



LETTER I. 

MONDAY, April 14. 

On board Steamship Arctic, from New. York for Liverpool. 

It has occurred to me, Messrs. Editors, that a brief journal 
of the occurrences on board one of these splendid ships, on a 
voyage across the Atlantic, might not be uninteresting to your 
readers. 

I shall not attempt to give you a particular account or de- 
scription of this floating palace, for so she may be appropri- 
ately designated, as a full description of her was given when she 
made her first voyage last autumn ; but when it is known that 
the ships belonging to this line of American mail steam pack- 
ets are first fitted for sea at an expense of six hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars each, it will readily be conceived that 
they are made to combine every thing in which strength, ele- 
gance, convenience, and comfort are embraced. The ship's 
company of the Arctic, including officers, seamen, firemen, 
servants, &c, number one hundred and thirty persons ; and 
we have on board one hundred and twenty passengers — of 
this number only about twenty are ladies. 

Amongst the gentlemen, we have the Hon. C. B. Haddock, 
Charge d' Affaires of the United States to the Court of Lisbon. 
He takes out with him a treaty of amity between the two 
countries, ratified by the Senate at the close of the late session 



6 a summer's tour m Europe. 

of Congress. Mr. H. is a gentleman of highly cultivated 
mind, is a nephew of Mr. Webster, Secretary of State, and is 
thought to resemble him very much in manner and personal 
appearance. 

We have also, in our list of passengers, the Hon. S. G. 
Goodrich, recently appointed Consul of the United States, to 
succeed Mr. Walsh at Paris. This latter gentleman has done 
much, during a long residence in France, both in a private 
and public capacity, to elevate and vindicate the American 
character and its institutions ; and we doubt not that his suc- 
cessor, carrying with him, as he does, a world-wide literary 
reputation, founded in some degree upon his writings under 
the well known name of " Peter Parley," will be enabled to 
do like good service to our country. 

There is also among our passengers, the Hon. G. W. Wright 
one of the members of Congress from California, a gentleman 
of indomitable energy and perseverance, who is said to have 
traversed, within the last two years, more of the mineral re- 
gions of that newly acquired territory, than perhaps any other 
American citizen. He has with him, it is understood, a most 
extensive cabinet of specimens of the rich minerals of that 
region, with which he expects to tempt the capitalists of Eng- 
land to unite more extensively in furnishing the necessary 
means for advantageously developing them. 

There are, besides these gentlemen already named, two 
gentlemen, who are bearers of despatches from the Depart- 
ment of State to our Ministers at the Courts of London and 
Paris — the Rev. Dr. Chowles, of the Baptist Church at New- 
port, Rhode Island, has the latter, and Mr. J. S. Cunningham 
those for London. Dr. C. has with him three or four inter- 
esting youths under his tuition, who, availing themselves of 
their vacation, are taking a short excursion to Europe. Mr, 
Cunningham has, in addition, a commission from the Govern 



A SUMMER S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



or of Virginia to observe and report to him the proceedings at 
the World's Fair in London. He is a native of your own city, 
his father himself held a situation in the office of the Courier 
for several years, and more recently conducted a paper at 
Portsmouth, Virginia, to which his son afterwards succeeded. 

The Arctic left New- York at noon on Wednesday, 2d inst. 
The day was dark and rainy, as was that of the following day ; 
but Friday and Saturday were two as beautiful days as ever 
shone out of the heavens, the sea quite calm, with a gentle 
breeze ahead, and the ship making her way nobly. At me- 
ridian, on the last named day, when exactly three days from 
port, a sad accident befel us. Many of the passengers had 
just taken their seats at table for lunch, when the engine was 
suddenly stopped — each one looked enquiringly to his neigh- 
bor as to the cause, and a moment after it was whispered 
along the table that a man had been killed by the engine. 
We left the table, and on enquiry ascertained that the intelli- 
gence was but too true. A young man of the name of Wil- 
liam Irwin, of New- York, an assistant engineer, who was 
engaged in oiling some part of the machinery, missed his hold, 
and in his fall was struck by a lever of the engine, and fell a 
lifeless corpse upon the floor of the engine room. It was un- 
derstood that he had left a young widow and an aged mother 
at home, dependent in a great degree upon his labors for their 
support. A meeting of the passengers was immediately con- 
vened in the cabin, and a subscription for their relief opened, 
which in a very short time amounted to between three and 
four hundred dollars, which was placed in the hands of Capt. 
Luce, to be thus applied when he should carry back to the 
bereaved ones the sad story of their loss. 

We have read, from time to time, affecting accounts of a 
burial at sea, but no one can appreciate the melancholy so- 
lemnity of such a scene, but those who have witnessed it. In 



8 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

this instance all the necessary preparations had been made, 
the body, sewed up in blankets, had been firmly lashed to a 
board, with a heavy weight attached to the feet, and placed 
upon the upper deck ; many of the passengers and crew were 
assembled to pay their last tribute of respect to a fellow-mortal, 
the engine was stopped, and the Kev. Mr. Coxe, of the Epis- 
copal Church, appeared dressed in his robes of white, and the 
service for the burial of the dead was commenced. On the 
Reverend Preacher's reaching the solemn words, " w 7 e con- 
sign his body to the deep," the remains were launched over 
the side into the sea, and no doubt soon reached the bottom 
of the ocean. What a solemn lesson to all present ! A young- 
man in the prime of life, who but an hour or two before was 
iu the full enjoyment of life, with all its alluring prospects 
before him, in an instant precipitated into eternity, and his 
remains thus consigned to the bottom of the ocean. 

On the following clay we had religious exercises on board, 
both morning and evening — in the morning by the Rev. Dr. 
Chowles, and in the evening by the Rev. Mr. Coxe, of the 
Episcopal Church in Hartford, Connecticut. On both occa- 
sions especial reference was made by the preachers to the 
sad event of the preceding day, and fervent prayers were sent 
up on high that we might be spared from any further calami- 
ty during our voyage, and that this sad dispensation might 
be hallowed to the immediate family of the deceased, and 
especially to a younger brother who is on board the ship in a 
subordinate capacity, and who was thus early called upon to 
drink of the cup of sorrow, to its dregs, by witnessing the 
mangled remains of an affectionate brother consigned to the 
deep. 

On Sunday we were also afforded an opportunity of view- 
ing, in all its splendor, one of those imposing, and at the 
same time appalling sights, an immense iceberg; it was in 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 9 

sight of us for several hours, and at one time within two or 
three miles of us. When the sun was shining upon it bright- 
ly, it had the appearance, of an immense castle or fortress. 
Near to it was another, which, from its retaining the same 
relative position whilst in sight, induced us to suppose that it 
might be attached to it by an intermediate body of floating 
ice. This last had a perpendicular elevation upon it resem- 
bling the slender steeple of a church. In the course of the 
following night, and on the morning of Monday, several oth- 
ers were observed, but we then lost sight of them, and saw no 
more during the remainder of the voyage. Our course, it 
appeared, had been rather further south than usual, in order 
to avoid these dangerous impediments to navigation, which 
were known to exist in large bodies in the more direct north- 
erly track across the Atlantic. 

In the course of Sunday and Monday we passed in sight of 
a number of vessels, mostly homeward bound ; but of the 
number there were two or three brigs, under French colors, 
bound on their annual fishing excursions to the Grand Banks. 
This trade is carried on by the French in much larger vessels 
than those used by the English and American fishermen, most 
of which are small schooners. 

On Tuesday and Wednesday we had strong gales from the 
north, and for the three following days equally strong ones 
from the east, which necessarily retarded our progress ; and 
being accompanied with much rain, consigned most of the 
passengers to the saloons, or to their state-rooms, and many 
to their couches, oppressed with that nausea with which old 
father Neptune is accustomed to visit nearly all who venture 
upon his domain. 

On Sunday, the 13th, we were favored with more moderate 
weather, and again had the pleasure of listening to the Rev. 
gentlemen who had ministered to us on the preceding Sab- 



10 

bath. In the forenoon, Mr. Coxe read for us the morning 
service of the Episcopal Church, and afterwards delivered a 
most interesting extemporaneous address ; and, in the eve- 
ning, Dr. Chowles commenced the service with prayer, and 
also addressed us in a most impressive practical discourse. In 
this, as on the former Sabbath, the pious devotions of the 
day were much aided by a numerous choir of amateur sing- 
ers, who not only on the Sabbath, but frequently in the early 
watches of the " stilly night," whiled away the lagging hours 
with their sweet voices. 

Shortly after the conclusion of the morning service, we 
made the high land of Mizen Head, to the westward of Cape 
Clear, and at four o'clock had passed that Cape, when w T e met 
the Cunard steamer Asia coming out from Liverpool, with a 
fine fair wind. The two vessels passed each other very quick- 
ly, but the usual courtesies were observed, of exchanging sig- 
nals ; and the Asia will, no doubt, have reported us thus near 
to our port of destination, a week earlier than our friends 
would otherwise have heard from us. The British steamer 
must have made the run from Liverpool to the Cape, two 
hundred and eighty -five miles, in about twenty-four hours. 
During the remainder of the afternoon and evening, we were 
running along the south coast of Ireland, reminding us, as it 
did, of many of our warm-hearted friends, natives of the Eme- 
rald Isle, whom we had left at our homes. Towards sunset 
we passed near to what is called the " Fastness Rock," upon 
which has been erected within the past year a neat little light- 
house, presenting, as it does, a pretty contrast in its white pro- 
portions, to the black sugar-loaf shaped rock, rising abruptly 
out of the water, upon which it is placed ; and before we 
retired to rest, we left the bright and beautiful light upon the 
Old Head of Kinsale far behind us. The weather was not 
sufficiently clear, during the afternoon, to distinguish very 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 11 

plainly the various mansions, situated upon the elevated land 
in sight ; but some of them were sufficiently large and con- 
spicuous to be readily discerned. 

At noon, to-day, we were off Holyhead, but the tide not 
serving, we cannot enter the Mersey until the evening. Our 
ship has thus made the run from New-York in twelve days — 
not so soon, indeed, as she has once before performed the voy- 
age, which was then completed in ten days and ten hours, on 
which occasion she made a run of three hundred and thirty 
miles in twenty-four hours. Our greatest speed during this 
passage gave us but two hundred and ninety-one miles, whilst 
one day, with a heavy head sea and strong head wind, we 
only accomplished two hundred and twenty miles. 

I have learned whilst on this voyage, what I was not before 
aware of, that a large portion of the fresh water used on board 
the sea steamers, is obtained, by a simple process of distilla- 
tion, from steam generated in the boilers from salt water. 
The steam is passed through pipes or worms to a jet of cold 
water thrown constantly upon them by the wheels, when the 
saline particles being separated, the fresh water becomes con- 
densed, and is passed into a tank for use. 

Whilst laying off the bar at the mouth of the Mersey, a 
meeting of the passengers was convened, and committees ap- 
pointed to prepare resolutions expressive of their high appro- 
bation of the skill and gentlemanly bearing of Captain Luce 
and of his officers, and their estimation of the safety, comfort, 
and elegance of his noble ship, which, when reported, were 
unanimously adopted. You will find a copy of these pro- 
ceedings at length in the papers which will reach you at the 
same time with this letter, and I shall be glad if you will 
give them a place, as I consider the important enterprise in 
which the company owning this splendid line of steamships 



12 



Las embarked, is eminently worthy of the encouragement of 
the American people and government. 



A Traveller. 



LETTER II. 



LONDON, Apeil 25. 

You may well imagine, Messrs. Editors, from what you 
see in the London papers which I send you by this steamer, 
that there is little else thought of here but the Great Ex- 
hibition, which now engrosses the attention of every one. I 
experienced, however, a feeling of disappointment at the first 
sight of the Crystal Palace — a feeling similar to that felt on 
approaching the Pyramids of Egypt ; but this feeling was 
succeeded by one of astonishment, on a nearer view of the 
exterior of the immense structure, and still more on entering 
it, and beholding its vast proportions and dazzling splendor. 
I shall not attempt a description of it, for no description can 
possibly come up to the reality. Its dimensions, however, 
are: Length, 1,848 feet; width, 408 feet; height, 66 feet; 
the transept, 108 feet high ; iron columns, 3,230 ; iron 
girders, 2,244; iron bearers, 1,128; 34 miles of gutter ; 
900,000 feet of glass; gallery, 24 feet wide ; site, 18 acres. 
The contract is for £79,800, or £130,000 if the building be 
retained. 

Through the kindness of friends, I have been enabled to 
visit the building repeated!}', and although everything is in 
comparative confusion, and thousands of workmen busily 
engaged in completing and decorating the edifice, and in 
fitting up and arranging the multifarious objects intended 



13 

for exhibition, yet a very good opportunity is afforded to 
examine those massy ones, many of which are already in 
their places, that are likely to attract universal attention. 

It has been officially announced, within a few days, that 
the exhibition will be opened by her Majesty, the Queen, 
on the first day of May — the time originally named for the 
purpose ; and although there is a vast deal to be done to get 
everything in readiness, there is not the least doubt that this 
intention will be carried out. It is supposed that there may 
be some fifteen thousand persons present in the building to 
witness this imposing ceremony, admitted by tickets at two 
and three guineas each, which will alone furnish a handsome 
proportion of the expense of its erection. The subdivisons 
of the building have been judiciously made to accommodate 
all the various nations which have intimated their intention 
of submitting any of their works of art, manufactures, or 
products, at this great international fair. The western end 
of the palace is appropriated to the reception and display 
of the works of British artists and manufacturers ; the east 
end to those from the United States ; and the intermediate 
divisions to the nations of the East and of Europe. France 
and Germany are likely to take the lead in the beauty and 
elegance of their productions, whilst England will probably 
be but little, if any, behind them in this respect, and will 
most likely exceed them in the substantial value and dura- 
bility of many of their fabrics. It is not to be expected 
that our own country is at all prepared, at this early period, to 
compete with them in the finer descriptions of manufactures, 
or of objects of art ; but in many of the articles of domes- 
tic and general utility, I think we shall be able to compare 
advantageously with any of them. In agricultural imple- 
ments — the display of which will be large and imposing — we 
shall very far exceed any, and all, of them ; and in various 



14 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

other descriptions of manufactures, if we do no excel, we 
shall at least be enabled to compare very respectably with 
them, considering that our country is as yet but in its in- 
fancy, although that infancy is a herculean one. On my 
first visit to the exhibition, I naturally looked for those par- 
ticular objects which I knew had been sent from our own 
City and State ; and conspicuous among the number were 
the Cypress Canoe, and the little Pony Phaeton, which had 
obtained the premium at the Fair last autumn in Charleston ; 
and in a lot of bags of cotton from the South, the names 
of " W. Hampton" and " W. Seabrook," were conspicuous. 
It would fill a large volume, merely to enumerate the names of 
the various articles which will be oir exhibition ; and any 
attempt, therefore, to describe them in a letter, would be 
useless. 

The collection of statuary, in the department of arts, will 
be very large, and of the number there are many more 
beautiful than I have ever before seen, with some few rare 
exceptions. But the number of bronze figures will exceed 
beyond all comparison any which have heretofore been col- 
lected together for exhibition. Two or three are particularly 
good and imposing — one, a colossal lion, moulded in brass ; 
another, a bronze amazon, mounted upon a powerful horse, 
and attacked by a ferocious tiger, which has fastened itself 
upon the breast and neck of the noble animal, whilst the 
amazon is in the act of plunging a javelin into the head of 
the tiger. These are admitted, on all hands, to be amongst 
the most imposing and beautiful objects in the whole ex- 
hibition. The former is from Munich, the latter from Berlin. 
There are, likewise, in the same group, two bronze stags, as 
large as life, which are equally the objects of general admi- 
ration. But in the department of the arts, pre-eminent 
above all others will be found the marble statue of the 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 15 

Greek Slave, by our gifted countryman, Powers. It will 
probably be recollected, that the one exhibited in America 
was a copy by the same eminent artist, the original having 
been sold to an English gentleman, who kindly sends it to 
the exhibition. He values it so highly, that an offer of a 
very large sum, made to him by Prince Albert for it, has 
been declined. 

Foreigners admitted by privileged tickets to witness the 
development and arrangement of the various objects to be 
exhibited at the Fair, have hitherto been excluded from that 
portion of the building assigned to the subjects of Great 
Britain ; but to-day I was permitted to take a stroll through 
it. As might be expected, the exhibitors in this division are 
in a greater state of forwardness for the display, than those 
of other nations, many of whose articles have but very 
recently reached England, and they are indeed upon a very 
large and imposing scale. The most distinguished manu- 
facturing concerns throughout the three kingdoms, have 
fitted up the most showy stalls and subdivisions in the space 
allotted them, and decorated them in the handsomest man- 
ner, in which to display their various fabrics, and the effect 
will be to give them a decided advantage. The display of 
coaches and carriages is most extensive, embracing every 
description of vehicle, whether useful or ornamental, that has 
ever been seen ; and the various makers throughout the 
kingdom seem to have spared no labor or expense in pro- 
ducing the most substantial, as well as the most gaudy, 
vehicles that can well be conceived. The consequence is, 
that this department will exceed, in numbers at least, all 
that will be offered for inspection by all the other nations 
represented at the Fair. Their specimens, also, of locomotive 
engines and passenger cars, will be enabled to walk over the 
course, as I see none present from any other country. Those 



16 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

on exhibition of British fabric, are indeed beautiful specimens 
of the manufacturing art. The immense telescope of Lord 
Ross, will also adorn this division of the palace. 

It has been deemed, considering the immense number 
employed in the erection of this gigantic edifice, and the 
manner and mode in which it is constructed, necessarily ex- 
posing them to accidents, very fortunate that but two lives 
have been lost in the whole operation. The last of these 
fatal accidents occurred a day or two since. A man engaged 
in repairing some of the glass work of the roof, lost his 
balance, and falling through to the floor below, was almost in- 
stantly killed. Some difficulty has been experienced to keep the 
roof of the palace from leaking, the materials of which it is 
composed being so liable to contract and expand — the conse- 
quence is, that the goods are very liable to be damaged, and 
to prevent which, some of the exhibitors have erected over 
their respective divisions, a canopy of transparent oiled silk 
or paper, which serves not only to secure them from any 
falling drops of water, but from dust also. To remedy this 
difhculty/however, as well as to prevent the too strong rays 
of the sun upon the sloping roofs of the edifice, from creating 
too great a degree of heat within, the contractors yesterday 
commenced covering the entire roof with glazed white cloth, 
which will, no doubt, have the desired effect. 

The government and people generally, have evinced a 
commendable disposition to afford all the facilities possible to 
enable strangers to witness everything of an interesting 
character in and about London on this occasion; and the 
American Minister, who is called upon by most of our coun- 
trymen, on their arrival, is ever ready to extend his advice 
and assistance in any and every way in which he can afford 
them aid. The number yet arrived is not so great as was 
generally supposed would be present at the opening of the 



17 



Fair ; but there is very little doubt that we shall be fully 
represented before it is over. 

The official progamme of the ceremonies to be observed on 
the opening of the great exhibition, by her Majesty, will be 
found in the London papers of yesterday morning ; they will, 
no doubt, be of the most grand and imposing character, and 
the immense assemblage of fifteen thousand ladies and gen- 
tlemen, besides, I suppose, as many thousands of attendants, 
who will be admitted as exhibitors to the exhibition, and 
their assistants, all congregated under one immense roof, 
where a very large proportion of those will be able to see 
each other ; and the distinguished parties appertaining to the 
court, and to the diplomatic representatives of the various 
nations present, will exhibit a spectacle, I should suppose, 
unsurpassed by anything of the kind which has been before 
seen in the world. 

The ex-Queen of France, relict of Louis Philippe, with 
several members of her family, were present at the Crystal 
Palace yesterday, and, of course, attracted much observation. 
What a sad change in their destiny, from the period when 
she presided over the splendors of the palace of the Tuille- 
ries. 

The busy note of preparation is everywhere heard in mak- 
ing arrangements for opening the various places of exhi- 
bition and amusement, which are specially dedicated to what 
is here termed " the season," commencing with May day. It 
is predicted that the season this year will be a short one — 
that the nobility and gentry will be away to the country 
earlier than usual, to avoid the noise and bustle which 
London is expected to present when it shall be thronged with 
foreign visitors. Yours, &c, 

A Traveller. 



18 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



LETTER III. 

LONDON^Friday), May 2, 1851. 
May Day has come and gone, and with it has been 
accomplished the highly interesting and imposing ceremony 
of opening the great exhibition of the World's Fair, in the 
glass palace in Hyde Park. The day was mild and pleasant ; 
and although there was a slight fall of rain, just as the 
Queen left Buckingham Palace, it did not dampen the ardor 
of the hundreds of thousands of her loyal subjects who had 
assembled in, and almost covered the park, to cheer her on 
her way. The number of visitors congregated within the 
palace, was estimated, and I should think within bounds, at 
25,000. It would be useless to attempt to number the 
immense collection in and around the park, and the adjoin- 
ing thoroughfares, which were all thronged with human 
beings, presenting the appearance of a sea of heads. The 
city and suburbs seemed to be entirely deserted during the 
morning hours ; and as the population of London and its 
immediate environs is now estimated at two and a half mil- 
lions, some idea may be formed of the great extent of the 
masses here congregated. As the procession from the 
Queen's palace was only composed of the royal carriages, 
and of those which conveyed the different branches of the 
royal family, it was not so imposing as it would have been 
had the trains of the foreign ambassadors joined in, as was 
done on the occasion of her coronation — these latter having 
previously arrived at the exhibition at such times as suited 
their own convenience. The Luke of Wellington, who now 
seems to be " the observed of all observers" in England, had 
also preceded her Majesty, and was hailed in the most enthu- 
siastic manner by the assembled multitude as he entered the 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 19 

palace, where he was observed for some time to be in close 
conversation with his distinguished associate on the field of 
Waterloo, the Marquis of Anglesey. The Queen, who is 
said to be remarkable for her punctuality in all her public 
engagements, entered the building precisely at twelve o'clock, 
and was received with the greatest enthusiasm. A tem- 
porary throne had been erected, composed of some of the 
most appropriate objects of art in the collection, on which 
her Majesty being seated, was surrounded by all the high 
officers of Church and State, including the Archbishop of 
Canterbury, the Bishops of Winchester and London, the 
Lord Chancellor, &c. The seats which on either side lined 
the nave, and the whole extent of the lower floor and galle- 
ries, had been reserved exclusively for the ladies ; and one 
standing in a central position would see, stretching from that 
point north and south, east and west, long lines of elegantly 
dressed women, whose animated countenances conveyed to 
the beholder a character of interest which no inanimate ob- 
jects, however beautiful, could supply. As her Majesty 
ascended the throne, one of the splendid organs which adorn 
the exhibition, struck up the national anthem of " God save 
the Queen," and an immense choir, collected for the occasion, 
accompanied the strain, and all seemed moved and excited 
by it. 

The Royal Commissioners now drew near the throne, and 
read to her Majesty a report of their proceedings, recapitu- 
lating the various means which had been resorted to for the 
construction and arrangement of the gigautic edifice, and the 
cordial assistance which they had received from all quarters, 
for carrying out the original design of its noble projector. 
They stated that the number of contributors, whose produc- 
tions it had been found possible to accommodate, were about 
15,000, of which number nearly one half were British, and 



20 

that they had been arranged in four classes, viz : 1. Raw mate- 
rials ; 2. Machinery ; 3. Manufactures ; 4. Sculpture and the 
Fine Arts. To which her Majesty returned the following 
gracious answer : 

" I receive with the greatest satisfaction the address which 
you have presented to me on the opening of this exhibition. 

" I have observed, with a warm and increasing interest, the 
progress of your proceedings in the execution of the duties 
intrusted to you by the Royal Commission ; and it affords 
me sincere gratification to witness the successful result of 
your judicious and unremitting exertions in the splendid 
spectacle by which I am this day surrounded. 

" I cordially concur with you in the prayer, that, by God's 
blessing, this undertaking may conduce to the welfare of my 
people, and to the common interests of the human race, by 
encouraging the arts of peace and industry, strengthening 
the bonds of union among the nations of the earth, and 
promoting a friendly and honorable rivalry in the useful 
exercise of those faculties Avhich have been conferreel by a 
beneficent Providence for the good and happiness of man- 
kind." 

His Grace, the Archbishop of Canterbury, then approacheel 
the throne, and offered up a fervent prayer, invoking the 
blessing of the Almighty upon the undertaking, which was 
followed by the choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus ; and its 
effect may be easily imagined when it is stated, that the per- 
formers were selected from the Chapel Royal, St. Paul's 
Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and St. George's Chapel, 
Windsor, assisted by many performers from the Royal 
Academy of Music, the Sacred Harmonic Society, and others, 
both foreign and English, 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 21 

The procession was then formed, and was of a very impos- 
ing character, in which were included Her Majesty, who led 
by the hand her son, the Prince of Wales, clad in the High- 
land costume, Prince Albert, with the little Princess Royal, 
all the members of the Court and high officers of State, the 
Foreign Ministers, Royal Commissioners, and commissioners 
from the various foreign nations represented on the occasion, 
the architects, contractors, &c, &c. As the procession ad- 
vanced, it was received everywhere with loud acclamations, 
and as it passed, each of the several organs, from Paris, from 
Erfurt, and that of British construction, in turn poured 
forth its powerful music, and this was followed by the bands 
of the Cold-Stream and Scotch Fusileer Guards, which as the 
procession rounded the eastern end of the building, enlivened 
the assembly by their spirit-stirring strains. Everywhere 
during the entire progress of the procession around the pa- 
lace, the cheering and waving of hats and handkerchiefs went 
on continuously, in which the numerous foreigners present 
seemed to vie with Her Majesty's most loyal subjects. These 
manifestations were most graciously responded to both by the 
Queen and Prince Albert. The Queen, it was thought, look- 
ed remarkably well, and bore the excitement of the occasion 
with her usual firmness and self-possession, but the Prince 
was evidently anxious, and exhibited considerable emotion 
when the ceremony was brought to a close ; which is easily 
accounted for when we remember that the project was one in 
which his name and reputation are to be forever hereafter as- 
sociated. The royal children were objects of much attention, 
especially the Prince of Wales, who was repeatedly cheered 
by the assemblage. 

When the procession had made the entire circuit of the im- 
mense edifice, and Her Majesty was again seated upon the 
throne, the Marquis of Breadalbane announced that the 



22 



Queen declared " the exhibition opened," — a flourish of trum- 
pets proclaimed the fact to the assembled multitude -within, 
which was repeated to the masses without by a salute of artil- 
lery at the Serpentine river. The royal family, with the 
court, then withdrew — the barriers which had separated the 
centre aisle of the building from the rest of the edifice, were 
now removed, and the twenty-five thousand visitors present 
were enabled to move about at pleasure. 

The papers which I send you by this conveyance, you will 
find filled with details of the. immense number of articles 
which were arranged in this great temple, for the inspection of 
all the world — and such an exhibition, I am persuaded, the 
world never before saw, and probably will never see again. 
.No one can obtain even a moderate knowledge of its con- 
tents, without days, if not weeks, of constant application — and 
if our own country has not furnished so large a portion of its 
contents as we could have wished, there are at least inven- 
tions of a useful character from the genius of Americans, of 
which they may well be proud ; and in the department of 
sculpture, the Greek Slave of Powers stands unrivalled. There 
is also to be seen in this collection, the statue, in purely white 
American marble, of a "Wounded Indian," executed by a 
youth of eighteen, who has never received any instruction in 
the art, which has attracted much notice, and promises for the 
youthful genius a lasting reputation, when he shall have 
been enabled, by study and experience, to execute some great 
work, of which this early evidence of his skill would seem to 
be the prelude. 

I have thus given you a hasty sketch of what occurred yes- 
terday at the opening of the World's Fair. If you have room 
for more extended details, the English papers will furnish you 
with them to any extent you may wish. 

Paris seems not disposed to be outdone by London in show 



23 



and parade, and we learn that the most extensive preparations 
have been made, and are now making, to celebrate, on Sun- 
day next, 4th instant, the anniversary of the adoption of the 
Constitution of the Republic — military displays, fire-works of 
the most imposing character, and various other demonstra- 
tions are to be made, to give importance to the event. Some 
people appear to apprehend trouble on the occasion, and it is 
asserted that this fear has operated unfavorably upon the 
Stock Exchange in London. 

The subject of Protection is now most actively agitated 
throughout the kingdom, and very large and influential meet- 
ings of the party have been held within a few days at Edin- 
burgh and in London. The latter took place on Tuesday, at 
Drury Lane Theatre, which was so completely packed with 
people, as to render a supplementary meeting necessary to 
accommodate all who had come to attend it from both town 
and country. You will see in the London papers of the fol- 
lowing day, a very full account of it, with a long list of the 
nobility and members of Parliament who were in attendance. 
The Times, the most uncompromising free trade paper in the 
country, and which, as you know, exerts a potent influence in 
all matters of State policy, endeavors to break the force of 
those demonstrations by turning them into ridicule ; but it is 
very evident, I think, that public opinion is inclining at this 
moment in favor of Protection, and that if a new Parliament 
was to be elected, very considerable changes would be made 
in favor of the doctrine. A recent visit of a day or two into 
the agricultural districts of Wilts and Berkshire, satisfied me 
that complaints were loud and deep amongst the farmers, 
against the system of free trade which now prevails. Indeed 
it is confidently predicted that unless some relief is soon ex- 
tended to them, many of the substantial yeomen of England 
will emigrate either to the colonies or to the United States. 



24 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

The weather for a fortnight past has been unusually cold 
for the season, and vegetation is consequently checked, which 
would otherwise have been very forward, as the winter was a 
remarkable one, there having been little or no snow or frost 
during the whole season. 

The city, as you may suppose, from the great influx of 
foreigners, and of people from the country, is now very full, 
and all the places of amusement consequently crowded. Two 
Italian Opera houses are in full blast, w'th strong rival com- 
panies ; Grisi and Mario at one, and Lablache and Sontag 
at the other. 

I am sorry to learn that this steamer will take out to you 
unfavorable accounts of the Cotton market at Liverpool, which 
has been much depressed of late. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER IV' 



PARIS, May 8. 
The journey from London to Paris is now performed with 
so much ease and expedition, as to induce hundreds to under- 
take it w T ho would never have thought of doing so under the 
old system of travelling by stage coaches and diligences. Now 
you can leave London at half-past ten in the morning by rail- 
road from the station at London bridge, reach Folkstone in 
about two hours, eighty-three miles, take the steamer at that 
place at half-past one, and make the run to Boulogne, twenty- 
nine miles, in about two hours more, arriving at Paris, one 
hundred and seventy miles, at half-past nine o'clock — eleven 
hours in all — so that you are enabled to take your breakfast 
in London at a very reasonable hour, and sup in Paris. 



A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE-. 25 

Most of the good people of Paris were sadly disappointed 
by the prevalence of a violent rain and hail storm on Sunday, 
the 4th instant, the anniversary of the proclaiming of the Re- 
public, by which all the preparations, upon which they had 
been weeks previously engaged, to welcome its return, were 
rendered of no avail. The fire-works were all ruined, the 
thousands of variegated lamps with which the Place de la 
Concord, the Champs d'Elysees, the garden of the Tuilleries, 
and various other places, had been festooned, were all either 
dimmed or extinguished — the innumerable flags prepared for 
the occasion, instead of floating in the breeze, were trailing to 
the ground ; and the hundreds of booths which had been 
erected in all directions, and in which the people had expect- 
ed to enjoy themselves with their accustomed sports and mer- 
riment, were, with their inmates, drenched by a cold and com- 
fortless rain-storm. There were many, however, who so far 
from regretting it, were rather disposed to rejoice at the dis- 
appointment of those who had, for political effect, made all 
those expensive preparations, and even reproached them with 
the remark, that the Almighty frowned upon their unhallow- 
ed work. 

The change which has come over Paris, since the expulsion 
of Louis Philippe, is more strikingly observed in the palace of 
the Tuilleries, than in anything else, which I have as yet ob- 
served. Here, where the royal family resided in all their 
state and splendor, where thousands were periodically enter- 
tained by the king, among whom our own countrymen were 
frequently the most numerous, is now all desolation and soli- 
tude ; a small tri-colored flag is indeed daily hoisted upon it, 
but all within is as silent as the grave, to which its late in- 
cumbent has recently descended. Tickets to admit strangers 
to view this deserted palace, can readily be obtained, and 
many out of curiosity avail themselves of the privilege. 
3 



26 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

The galleries of trie Louvre are closed for the present, fof 
the purpose, as it is stated, of improving and renovating them, 
The public will, no doubt, be again admitted to them, as soon 
as this shall have been completed. 

The trees upon the Boulevards, which were cut down dur- 
ing the revolutionary struggle, have been re-planted, and now 
exhibit the appearance of a vigorous growth, and being gene- 
rally of a uniform size, and now nearly in full foliage, present 
a pleasing and uniform appearance. The stones with which 
the streets were formerly paved, and which were so effectually 
used in erecting the barricades, have been removed from the 
Boulevards, the Champs d'Elysees, the Rue de Rivoli, and 
some of the other principal streets of the city, and have beeu 
replaced by a M'Adamised pavement, which cannot be here- 
after resorted to for a similar purpose — and the familiar man- 
ner in which such an event is daily discussed, both in the 
national assemblies and in the public press, would seem to 
render such an event quite rjrobable ; although everything 
just now appears to be perfectly tranquil. 

The Palais Royal, the property of the family of Louis Phi- 
lippe, all the furniture and splendid decorations of which were 
destroyed when he was expelled from the throne, remains as 
was left by the infuriated mob, not a single article or orna- 
ment being left of the immense number of beautiful ones 
which adorned it, and with a sight of which the strangers in 
Paris were formerly regularly gratified one day in each week. 

The great painting by our talented countryman, Mr. Healy, 
the scene of which is laid in the Senate of the United States, 
when the important constitutional question was discussed by 
Mr. Webster and Gen. Hayne, is in a great state of forward- 
ness, and the artist expects to return home to the United 
States with it the ensuing autumn, when it will be exhibited 
in the principal cities of the Union. Of the most prominent 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 2^ 

likenesses in the picture, that of our late distinguished states- 
man, Mr. Calhoun, is thought to be strikingly correct and 
life-like. The separate likeness of this great man, which has 
been painted by the same artist for the city of Charleston, is 
completed, and now at the annual exhibition, in London, for 
inspection, previous to its being sent home. 

I learn, also, that the national painting intended to fill the 
remaining niche in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Washing- 
ton, upon which our young countryman, Mr. Powell, has been 
two or three years steadily engaged, is fast approaching to 
completion. It represents, as you will remember, the first 
discovery of the Mississippi river, the great father of waters, 
by De Soto, the stirring history of whose early adventures in 
our western wilderness is familiar to all. 

Paris is now garrisoned by an army of sixty thousand men, 
who keep strict watch and ward over the free citizens of this 
great Republic, a very strong detachment of whom is posted 
in a portion of the palace of the Tuilleries, which has been 
converted into barracks for their accommodation. These sol- 
diers are daily drilled and pass their evolutions, by regi- 
ments, &c, and in the evening, when the duties of the day 
are over, throng the streets and avenues of the city in such 
numbers that nearly every other person you meet with in 
your walks is in uniform. I have been always very much 
struck by the uniformity in size and age which appears so 
generally to characterize the soldiers of France, and their uni- 
versally bronzed complexion renders them equally uniform in 
this respect. The relieving of guard every morning at the 
Tuilleries, is to us, strangers, who have apartments in the im- 
mediate neighborhood, quite an interesting sight. 

Complaints are made in the legitimate press of the city, 
that there is no one now to relieve the distressed hundreds 
who have been ruined by the expenses incurred by them in 



28 

the erecting of booths, and supplying them with the neces* 
sary comforts for the people, on the great fete of Sunday last, 
■whose hopes of remuneration were destroyed by the inclem- 
ency of the weather on that occasion. Formerly, it is assert- 
ed, it was the custom of the queen, on such occasions, to send 
for a list of the unfortunate ones, and to make up their losses 
from her own private purse. 

The weather here, for the last two weeks, as well as in 
England, has been unusually cold for the season, which ne A 
cessarily detracts from the pleasures which strangers usually 
enjoy in Paris at this balmy season of the year. 

I shall be off, Messrs. Editors, in a day or two, for the inte- 
rior of France, and Italy, when you may perhaps hear from me 
again. A Traveller, 



LETTER V 



LYONS, Mat 17. 
The journey from Paris to Lyons, which formerly occupied 
four or five days by private conveyance, can now be per- 
formed in two ; and after the first of next month, when the 
railroad will be completed from Paris to Chalons, on the 
Saone, can be easily accomplished in one day. We placed 
our carriage upon a railroad car at Paris, at nine o'clock on 
the 15th instant, and in five hours were at Tonnerre, one 
hundred and twenty-three miles from Paris. Here we took 
post horses, and travelled to Dijon, about seventy-five miles, 
where we were again placed on the rails, and in two hours 
were at Chalons, forty-three miles ; from Chalons we ran 
down the Saone to Lyons, eighty-five miles, in about six 
hours — whole distance, three hundred and twenty-six miles. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 29 

The journey, at this balmy season of the year, when every- 
thing is gikn. and beautiful, is a very interesting one ; the 
route, during the first part of the journey, is upon, or near, 
the banks of the Seine, and until you reach the Forest of 
Fontainbleau, passes over a widely-extended plain, covered 
with well-cultivated fields of wheat, oats, &c. Soon after 
which, more elevated lands are seen on either side of the 
river, the sides and summits of which are planted in vine- 
yards, which, at this time, the old vines having been re- 
moved, and the young ones only just beginning to spring up 
from their roots, make but a naked appearance, but present, 
notwithstanding, a very striking contrast to the beautiful 
variety and shades of green afforded by the other more for- 
ward productions of the soil. Not the least pleasing objects 
which present themselves to the view of the traveller upon 
this route, is the great number of fine old French towns and 
villages, which line the banks of the Seine, and through or 
near to which the railroad passes ; of these are Montereau, 
Sens, Joigny, and Tonnerre. That portion of the road not 
yet finished between the last-named town and Dijon, has 
been constructed in the most perfect and substantial manner, 
and in many parts of it undoubtedly at a very heavy expense. 
For some twenty miles before reaching Dijon, it passes along 
or through a ridge of rocky elevation, requiring a series of 
long and lofty stone viaducts and embankments, which com- 
pare favorably with the immense labors bestowed upon the 
apparently impassable barriers over which a portion of the 
Great Western Railroad between Boston and Albany passes* 
As we approached the city of Dijon, we passed the deserv- 
edly celebrated University, which is most delightfully situ- 
ated near to it, in the midst of beautiful walks, ornamented 
with rows of poplar and other shade trees, through which 
pass several streams of water. As we rode past this inte- 



30 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

resting seminary of learning, we observed an irregular but 
numerous procession of the tutors and students, taking one 
of their daily walks in the grounds, a portion of the latter 
playing upon various musical instruments for their amuse- 
ment. "We were much struck with the general appearance 
of Dijon, and with the beauty of its four or five churches, 
which are remarkable for the richness of their architectural 
decorations. The streets, too, are well paved, and the houses 
generally neat and commodious. It contains also the Pro- 
vincial Palace, the Houses of Assembly of the ancient par- 
liament of Burgundy, the palace of the former Dukes of 
Burgundy, and, at the gates of the palace, is the Chartreuse, 
where some of the members of that house are interred. It is, 
besides, a place in which manufactures in woolen, cotton, and 
silk, are carried on to a very considerable extent, which 
impart an air of life and activity to its inhabitants, who 
number, at this time, about 25,000. The route of the rail- 
road from Dijon to Chalons, contrasts very strikingly with 
that which enters Dijon from Tonnerre. There it passes 
over almost impassable ridges of rocky hills, as already 
described ; whilst, from Dijon to Chalons, the road is made 
upon a level plain, where very little expense could have been 
incurred in grading, and is lined on all sides by beautiful 
vineyards, and highly cultivated gardens and grounds, afford- 
ing most pleasing views to the passengers who travel by that 
route. The town of Chalons, the other terminus of this 
branch of the road, is very advantageously situated upon the 
river Saone, and is a place of considerable trade and activity, 
which will, no doubt, be much extended, now that it is 
placed in immediate communication with Paris by a direct 
railroad. The population at present only amounts to about 
13,000. In descending the river to Lyons, we find the 
banks are, for the most part, flat, but well cultivated ; and in 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 81 

some parts the scenery is extremely pleasing, which increases 
in interest on approaching Lyons. And we are told by 
travellers, that the road between the two cities, and which runs 
nearly parallel with the river, passes over Mount d'Or, 
so called from the rich color of its vineyards in autumn, 
from the summit of which a charming prospect may be 
enjoyed of the rich plains of Burgundy on the one side, of 
the Lyonnois on the other, and of the snow-clad Alps of 
Dauphine in the distance. 

The Saone, between Chalons and Lyons, is crossed by some 
fifteen or twenty very handsome suspension iron bridges, of a 
very light, airy appearance, all of which have been con- 
structed within a few years. From Paris to Chalons we saw 
very few cattle, but numerous flocks of sheep ; but on the 
extensive meadows bordering the Saone, very large droves of 
horned cattle were to be seen, and it was remarked that they 
were nearly all white, or partially marked with yellow or 
brown spots. In the immediate vicinity of Lyons, the banks 
of the river are lofty and beautifully variegated, and highly 
ornamented with villas and country seats, presenting, alto- 
gether, a most interesting appearance. There are a great 
number of beautiful islands in the river, generally covered 
with a bright green sward, but with few or no trees or shrub- 
bery. There is one, however, called " LTsle Barbe," famed 
as being for a time the residence of Charlemagne, which 
is now the favorite resort of the citizens of Lyons in all their 
excursions of pleasure, and which has been embellished with, 
every description of tree and shrubbery of an ornamental 
character. 

Of the city of Lyons itself, it is quite unnecessary for me 
to attempt a description. It is well known to your readers 
as being the greatest manufacturing city in France, contain- 
ing a population of between one hundred and seventy and 



32 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

one hundred and eighty thousand inhabitants. It is situated 
very much like your own city, on a point of land formed by 
two noble rivers, the Rhone and the Saone ; and its public 
and private buildings are of a most massy and imposing 
character, many of the latter being from six to eight stories 
in height. The spacious stone houses upon the quays, front- 
ing the two rivers, are filled with the fabrications of the 
numerous artisans of whom the population of the city is so 
largely composed, although it is said at this time that great 
numbers of them are out of employment ; and this circum- 
stance, coupled with their restless and revolutionary character, 
renders it no easy matter for the government to keep them 
quiet. Red Republicanism and Socialism are here the order 
of the day ; and the masses will, no doubt, be found ready, 
on the first opportunity which may offer, to carry their own 
political principles into effect. To prevent anything of this 
kind, however, the city swarms with soldiers, and if they can 
be relied upon, there is not much chance of a revolutionary 
emeute being successful, certainly not until the next year, 
when the election for President of the Republic is to come 
off, and which seems to be looked to on all sides as likely to 
result in something of a very serious character, if the minds 
of the immense number who were disfranchised by the law 
of the 31st May of last year, is not quieted by a repeal of 
that law, or by some amendment of the constitution calcu- 
lated to do away with that disability. 

A Traveller. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



LETTER VI. 



NICE, May 21. 

A day of rest at this pleasantly situated town, enables 
me, Messrs. Editors, to continue my communications, in 
accordance with the wishes expressed by you at our parting ; 
and I am the more readily inclined to fulfil my partial 
promise, as I feel persuaded that my unpretending notices 
will be received with indulgence both by you and your 
readers. 

The city from which I now address you, has become, 
of late years, the favorite resort of invalids from England 
during the winter months ; and although much the larger 
portion of them have already left for their homes, and others 
are preparing to do so, it must be with feelings akin to those 
which our low country planters experience when compelled 
to leave their plantations in May, with everything green and 
beautiful around them. The weather here, at this time, com- 
pares advantageously with even that which we have in 
Charleston at the same time ; and vegetation is still more in 
advance than with us. We had upon our table this morn- 
ing, fine ripe cherries, strawberries, and figs. New potatoes 
are already nearly to their full size ; whilst green peas, and 
all other garden vegetables, are in great perfection. 

The city is hemmed in on the land side by the summit of 
Mount Montalbo, the termination of the great Alpine range, 
which here may be said to overhang the Mediterranean 
Sea, presenting a bold and rugged frontier from Frejus in 
France, to Genoa in the kingdom of Sardinia. The old 
town has few attractions, but the new part of it is very 
handsome, 'built of a description of white stone with 
which the neighborhood abounds, presenting most imposing 



34 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

and massy blocks of buildings, of great architectural beauty. 
The pure healthy air, and great mildness of climate, attract- 
ing a large number of visitors, is, no doubt, one of the prin- 
cipal causes of the great improvements which have been 
made within the last few years. Its population is now com- 
puted at 35,000 ; and everything wears the appearance of 
activity and thrift. 

My last letter was dated at Lyons, on the lTth instant; 
and the journey from that city to Nice, which occupied three 
days, was one of much interest. Placing our carriage upon 
one of the singularly-constructed steamboats, which ply upon 
the Saone and the Rhone, Ave left Lyons at six o'clock in the 
morning of the 18th, and made the run to Avignon — a dis- 
tance of one hundred and sixty miles — in eleven hours. I 
have spoken of the singular shape of the steamers which ply 
upon these rivers, and I think you will agree with me, when 
I tell you, that they are from two hundred to two hundred 
and fifty feet in length, and only from twelve to fourteen feet in 
width ; and w T ere one of them to be fallen in with at sea, 
long, low, and black as they are, it would be very likely 
to be taken for the sea serpent. Although there is very little 
comfort to be found on board these boats, their charges for 
the freight of carriages and passengers are very high. We 
paid twenty-four dollars for our carriage, and four dollars for 
each one of our party, for a distance about the same as that 
between New York and Alban}', where the charge would not 
have much exceeded one-fourth of that amount. We did 
not, however, begrudge the expense ; the day was a lovely 
one, and the great number of objects of interest which pre- 
sented themselves to our view, during the entire voyage 
down, amply repaid us. At almost every turn, some old 
ruin or castled height presented itself, comparing not disad- 
vantageously with even those upon the far-famed banks of 



35 



the Rhine, although the latter may be more strongly imbued 
with historical recollections of both ancient and modern times. 
The numerous hills, covered with vineyards in many parts of 
it, particularly in the neighborhood of Macon, must ever be 
an object of great interest to our American travellers, who 
can witness nothing of the kind in their own country. The 
Castle of St. Peray, now in ruins, is situated upon a lofty 
height, the sides of which produce grapes, from which the 
wine bearing that name is made — a species of champagne 
much approved by some of our friends in the United States, 
and a sample of which we had an opportunity of tasting at 
Avignon. After taking dinner at this last named town, 
we ascended the heights which rise immediately beside it, 
next the river, which afforded us a most wide and interesting 
view of the surrounding country, and of the river above and 
below the town, rushing on as it does towards its entrance 
into the Mediterranean. Avignon is an old fashioned, dirty 
town, and everything which enters its gates for consumption, 
as is the case at Paris, must pay an octroi. After passing a 
very safe and comfortable night, locked up in this walled 
city, we took our departure at seven o'clock in the morning, 
by railroad, to Marseilles. As we were coming out of the 
gates, we met a considerable portion of a regiment of cavalry 
from Algeria, marching in ; and they, one and all, presented 
unmistakable evidence of having undergone pretty severe 
service in that African climate. The distance by railroad to 
Marseilles is seventy-six and three-fourth miles, which was 
performed in four hours, making a number of stoppages by 
the way ; and w T e were struck with the great regularity 
which was observed in all these stoppages, they being all 
fixed to a minute by their time tables, which were most 
strictly observed in every instance. The road, for a large 
portion of the way, passed over a level plain, at one point 



36 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

presenting us with a distant view of the Mediterranean, but 
as it approaches the city, it passes through a vast tunnel, 
three miles and a half in length, cut out of the solid rock — a 
work of immense labor. We had but a short time to notice 
this ancient city, more remarkable indeed for its great age 
than for its beauty, it being crowded, particularly the oldest 
part of it, into a most dense mass of confused narrow streets, 
and the shipping lying with their yards nearly touching the 
houses. The city is now said to contain two hundred thou- 
sand inhabitants. It was founded six hundred years before 
the Christian era, by a colony of Phoenicians ; and although, 
as I have said, the old town has nothing to recommend it, 
yet many of the more recently built parts of it, and the 
various public walks around, and handsome approaches to it, 
render it, in the view of many persons, a very desirable resi- 
dence. Its being the principal steam-packet station from 
Italy and the East, as well as its extensive foreign commerce, 
make it a place of great commercial importance. Summer 
appeared to have set in in good earnest after leaving Avig- 
non, for we found the farmers busily engaged in hay-making ; 
and it was here that we noticed, for the first time, extended 
orchards, if I may so term them, of the olive tree, and soon 
after passing Marseilles, began to meet occasionally with the 
cork tree, which grows to some extent on this part of the 
coast, though it does not appear to be considered of much 
value, judging from the little use which is made of it. I 
find an immense improvement in the roads in this part 
of France since I first travelled a portion of them, some 
thirty years since. Then they were generally paved in the 
centre with large square or round stones, leaving an unpaved 
track on either side, which was invariably used when prac- 
ticable ; but as it was frequently impassable in wet weather 
travellers were then compelled to take the rough paved road, 



SI 



which was ruinous to carriage wheels. Now these rough 
stones are removed, and nearly all the roads rendered beautp 
fully smooth by being M'Adamized — a great improvement 
on former times. Of this last description is a new road con- 
structed over a mountain pass between Marseilles and the 
village of Brignoles, where we stopped for the night. Leav* 
ing this place at an early hour on the morning of the 20th, 
we arrived at Frejus about one o'clock. This place is cele- 
brated as the point from which Napoleon took his departure, 
having landed a short distance from it when he escaped from 
Elba. It was from this place that he took up his line of 
march upon Paris, and from whence was dated his short 
reign of one hundred days, which was terminated by his disas- 
trous defeat at Waterloo. At Frejus, which is now but a 
very small village, we examined the remains of an extensive 
Roman aqueduct, some of the arches still remaining in a 
good state of preservation ; the water was brought from a 
neighboring mountain to supply what must then have been 
a very considerable city, as near to it there is also to be seen 
the remains of an extensive Roman amphitheatre. These 
relics of ancient times, and the fact of its having been so 
intimately connected with one of the most interesting events 
in the eventful life of Napoleon Bonaparte, caused us to 
-notice it more particularly than we otherwise should have 
done. Immediately on leaving Frejus, we commenced the 
ascent of one of the spurs from the great Apalachian chain 
of mountains, which terminate on the shore of this sea. 
The road, no doubt the work of ages, must have been con- 
structed with immense labor ; and after passing it one ceases 
to wonder even at the great work of Napoleon, in his cele- 
brated road over the Simplon. The ascent is of several 
miles ; and the descent, although less precipitous, is still 
longer in extent, before we again find ourselves down upon a 



38 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE* 

level with the Mediterranean. This we do on reaching the 
town of Cannes — a small seaport town, more noted of late 
from the circumstance that Lord Brougham, and some few 
others, have within a few years purchased estates in and 
adjoining it, and added very materially to its embellishment, 
his lordship being now engaged in making great additional 
improvements to the grounds attached to his elegant villa, 
surrounding it with highly ornamental ranges of stone walls 
of great extent, fronting upon the road which passes before 
it, the mansion overlooking and commanding an extensive 
view of the town road-stead, and surrounding shores. Im- 
mediately in front of the town, and at a distance of some 
two or three miles, lays the island of St. Margarita. Upon 
it is a strong fortification, in which are kept in close confine- 
ment some two or three hundred unfortunate Arab prisoners, 
taken with their leader, Abdel Kader, by the French, in the 
war which resulted in the final conquest of Algeria. Abdel 
Kader himself is no longer with them, having been removed 
at first to the Castle of Ham, and since that to some other 
stronghold in the south of France. You will have noticed, a 
short time since, in the English papers, a most interesting 
appeal made by Lord Castlereagh, to. Louis Napoleon, on 
the cruelty of keeping this brave man in such long continued 
and hopeless confinement, alluding in his letter to the Presi- 
dent's own confinement in the same castle. Louis's reply 
was, that he had not been unmindful of Abdel Kader's suf* 
ferings, and would be very willing to put an end to them 
when it could be done with safety to the State. These 
unfortunate captives, we are told, are frequently visited by 
strangers sojourning in the neighborhood, who extend to 
them such pecuniary assistance as to render their imprison- 
ment somewhat less galling. From Cannes we pass on a 
distance of some four or five miles to Antines — the last town 



A SUMMER^ TOUR IN EUROPE. 39 

of any importance within the French territory, which, being 
a frontier town, is strongly fortified, surrounded by a high 
and massy wall, with deep moat, and is garrisoned by a 
strong detatchment of soldiers. This town would seem to be 
of some importance, as it has an artificial harbor, protected 
by an extensive mole extending a very considerable distance 
into the sea, upon the extreme end of which is erected a 
light-house ; and there were some twenty or thirty sail of 
vessels, such as usually navigate the Mediterranean, at anchor 
within it. Very shortly after leaving An tines, we reached a 
small stream which divides the territory of France from the 
kingdom of Sardinia, and having been subjected to a very 
slight examination, passed on without any detention, and in 
less than an hour after were at our very comfortable lodg- 
ings, the Victoria Hotel, not, however, without finding our- 
selves very much fatigued, having travelled a distance of 
eighty miles. But we are now, after a good night's rest, and 
the excellent viands which the hotel affords, quite ready to 
commence our journey afresh at an early hour to-morrow 
morning, and anticipate a most interesting ride from this 
place to Genoa, which will occupy us two days. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER VII. 

GENOA, Mat 27. 
I did not contemplate, Messrs. Editors, inflicting another 
letter upon you and your readers so soon, but T have found 
the two last days' journey from Nice, whence I last ad- 
dressed you, so full of interest, and so entirely unlike any 



40 

other of the same extent, that I have ever passed over, that I 
cannot refrain from attempting a hurried description of it. 
The distance is about one hundred and forty English miles, 
and the road runs most of the way either immediately along 
the margin of the Mediterranean, or within a very short dis- 
tance from it. It was commenced, as we are informed, by 
Napoleon, and was afterwards continued and completed by 
the King of Sardinia, within whose dominions it is. The 
entire expense must have been very large, as it is for many 
miles of the way cut out of the solid rock, and when that is 
not the case, one or both sides of it is built up of massy 
walls, and almost innumerable stone bridges are constructed 
over the gorges which make down from the mountain sides, 
and which it becomes necessary to follow Up and turn, when- 
ever they occur. As almost the entire road rests upon rock, 
and where that is not the case, is thoroughly M'Adamized, it 
is, as you may suppose, of the most firm and substantial cha- 
racter, and is throughout as smooth as a house floor. We 
travelled over it by post, at a rate of about seven miles per 
hour, some of the horses taking us fourteen or fifteen miles, 
and others not more than six or eight. "We left Nice at an 
early hour — about sunrise, — in order to ascend the mountain 
under which it is nestled, when the view down upon the city, 
and of the sea, is extremely beautiful. The immense olive 
groves which cover the level space along the banks of the 
little river which passes through the town into the sea, as 
well as those which line the sides of the mountains which 
enclose it, are not only beautiful to look upon, but furnish 
support to a very considerable portion of the people. From 
the top of this mountain we have what appears to be a very 
near view of that portion of the Alpine ridge which is covered 
with eternal snows, and with the bright morning sun shining 
upon them, present much the same appearance as the large 



41 



white fleecy clouds which frequently in the summer time may 
be seen in our Southern skies. We look down at the same time 
on the other side, upon the neat little haven of Villa Franca, 
which is considered as attached to the port of Nice, and to 
which were sent into quarantine all vessels arriving there with 
the cholera. Passing along this mountain ridge, we observe 
in the distance, at its foot, the small town of Monaco, the 
only one of any size in the little principality of that name, • 
said to be the smallest monarchy (if monarchy it can be called) 
in the world. The history of this principality seems to be 
involved in much obscurity, and the Prince himself, whose 
subjects amount only to some eighty thousand, acknowledges 
a certain degree of dependence on the King of Sardinia, and 
avails himself of his protection. He resides much of his time 
in Paris, where he spends a large portion of his income, which 
is principally derived from a rent in kind, levied upon the 
products of the soil, which consist mostly of olives, lemons, 
and oranges. It was here we first noticed the palm tree, re- 
minding us of our own palmetto, which it resembles in some 
degree, although the body of the tree is small in comparison 
with the palmetto. The people along this coast are a hardy 
race, nearly as dark as the North American Indians, which 
may be attributed to their constant exposure to the sun and 
weather, particularly those who are engaged upon the water 
as sailors or fishermen. The women perform most of the 
labor in the fields, and present a rough and unfeminine ap- 
pearance, and those at all advanced in life, both women and 
men, are extremely homely, arising, no doubt, from hard work 
and hard fare, from which, unlike our slaves in the South, 
even extreme old age does not appear to exempt them. We 
slept the first night at the small town of Oneglia, about half 
way between Nice and Genoa. This town was bombarded by 
the French in the year 1792. It is the birth-place of Andrea 
4 



42 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

Doria, the celebrated Genoese Admiral, and it now has 
amongst its inhabitants great numbers of hardy mariners and 
fishermen. This may be said to be the case with a great 
number of small Italian towns which line this coast, in several 
of which, particularly Vorigane, where ship-building is carried 
on to a very considerable extent, there being some fifteen or 
twenty sail of small vessels upon the stocks when we passed 
it, most of them probably intended as traders from the port of 
Genoa. There are, also, in some of the towns through which 
we passed, various manufactures carried on to a very conside- 
rable extent, such as iron, tiles, potteries, &c. As we ap- 
proached within a few miles of Genoa, we passed through 
several galleries or tunnels, cut through some of the high 
promontories which make out into the sea. The mountain 
sides begin here to be covered with handsome country houses 
and villas, some of which are extremely beautiful, and stocked 
with trees and shrubs from every quarter of the world ; 
amongst which we observe those bearing the wild flowers of 
our own country, both North and South. One of these villas, 
which belongs to the family of Pallavacino, has within a few 
years been renovated and embellished, at a cost of many 
millions of francs — one million (about two hundred thou- 
sand dollars) having been expended upon it annually for 
several successive years. It stretches up from the main road 
on the seashore, to a lofty height on the mountain side. It 
occupied us two hours and a half to walk over it, and such 
was the interest excited by the never-ending objects of curiosi- 
ty with which the grounds, the grottos, the temples, statuary, 
&c, abound, that we were not sensible of fatigue. Near the 
top of the garden is a most intricate cave or grotto, artificial, 
indeed, but so inimitably resembling nature as to deceive the 
most close inspection, in the midst of which you come sud- 
denly upon an artificial lake, upon which you meet with 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 43 

several small boats, eacli rowed by a single boatman, into 
•which you enter, and are conveyed around it, passing several 
little islands upon which are erected various temples, Chi- 
nese, Turkish, &c, embellished with the most beautiful mar- 
ble figures, over which light and airy iron bridges are thrown, 
and over which the visitors are conducted, after being taken 
the rounds of the lake, all of which has the appearance of 
fairy-land. The water which supplies this lake is brought 
from a still higher range of the mountain than that upon 
the sides of which the garden is situated, and which after 
passing through the lake, serves to irrigate and fructify the 
never-ending variety of trees, plants, and shrubs, with which 
this enchanting spot abounds. The family to which it be- 
longs is immensely rich. It consists of three brothers, the 
eldest of whom is married, but has no children, the second is 
living in single blessedness, whilst the youngest is married, 
and is the father of several children. This beautiful villa is 
only occasionally visited by one of the family, a day or two at 
n time, but is open to the public daily, visitors being conduct- 
ed through it by guides, of which it is said there are some 
fifteen in constant attendance for that particular purpose; 
whilst the whole number of persons employed about the esta- 
blishment amounts to between two and three hundred. One 
of the most splendid palaces in the city belongs to the same 
family, in which one of the brothers resides, and where occa- 
sional balls and entertainments are given of the most gorgeous 
description. The city of Genoa abounds, as you are well 
aware, with the most costly edifices of this kind, whose own- 
ers spend their great revenues in an extravagant style of liv- 
ing, unknown to our more rational republican countrymen. 
The extremes of wealth and poverty are here to be seen at 
every step, and whilst strangers are thus occupied in viewing 
the magnificent abodes of the immensely rich, they are assail- 



44 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

ed at every step by the most importunate and wretched of 
beggars. Genoa, next to Rome, has several of the most 
costly and gaudy Churches in Italy — some of them built by 
the families who possess the imposing palaces with which the 
city abounds, and which are open at all times to the inspec- 
tion of the curious, as well as for the use of those who daily 
and hourly resort to them for spiritual consolation. The 
commerce of the port is quite extensive, it being the entrepot 
of the trade of Switzerland, Piedmont, Sardinia, and Lombar- 
dy. Most of the business appears to be carried on in Genoese 
vessels, there being very few present of any other nation — of 
the two or three hundred sail at this time in port, only one 
bears the American flag. The harbor is a very commodious 
one, but the vessels do not generally lay at the wharves, 
there not being room for them; they are moored side by side, 
in some four or five lines, and are boarded by boats, of which 
there are great numbers constantly in readiness for use. It 
is in the form of a crescent, and is pretty well protected from 
the sea by two long moles which extend out, from either side, 
leaving a convenient space between them for ingress and 
egress. The w T ater is of sufficient depth to admit the largest 
ships-of-war. No American can visit Genoa without feeling 
a deep interest in it, as the birth-place of the great discoverer 
of the American Continent, Christopher Columbus, whose 
memory is still deservedly held in high veneration by the 
Genoese people. The King of Sardinia resides at Turin, 
which is considered, from that circumstance, to be the capitol 
of his dominions. The Genoese have fitted up the royal palace 
here in truly regal style, in the hope, probably, of tempting 
the King to come and reside amongst them ; but it is said 
that Genoa being a place of great trade, can well dispense 
with the presence of the Court, whilst Turin, being deprived 
of this advantage, requires its jn'esence in order to sustain it. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 45 

The weather, ever since we left Paris, has been most de- 
lightful. At mid-day, in the sun, it has been, at times, rather 
too warm for comfort ; but in the shade, and at night, as mild 
and balmy as could be desired. And the Mediterranean, 
whilst we have been upon its borders, has been indeed calm 
and unruffled as a summer sea. We take a Neapolitan 
steamer this afternoon for Leghorn and Naples, passing on 
our way the Islands of Corsica and Elba, the birth-place and 
the prison of Napoleon. After performing this cruise along 
the coast, you may hear from me again. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER VIII. 

Genoa, Leghorn, Civita Vecchia, to Naples.. 

NAPLES, June 2. 
When I last addressed you from the first named of the 
above places, I was quite in love with the Mediterranean, 
along whose shores we had been travelling some six or eight 
days, and which presented from the shore a most smooth and 
glossy appearance ; this tempted us, whilst at Genoa, so far 
to vary our original plan as to engage our passages on board 
the very good Neapolitan iron steamer Vesuvio, of 650 tons, 
built in London at a cost of twenty-five thousand pounds, 
bound for Naples, to touch at Leghorn and Civita Vecchia — 
but as ill luck would have it, when the hour for departure 
had arrived, a storm of wind and rain had set in, which ren- 
dered our first night on board the steamer anything but plea- 
sant to us. We left at half-past seven o'clock in the evening, 
and made the run in about eight hours and a half. Shortly 



4 6 A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 

after daylight, our courier came clown to announce to us that 
We were entering the port of Leghorn, and that we had just 
passed a small American squadron of ships-of-war at anchor 
in the outer road-stead, which we afterwards learned consisted 
of the frigate Independence and steamship Mississippi, under 
the command of Commodore Morgan. As they lay three or 
four miles from the harbor, I could not spare the time to visit 
them, which I should have been much pleased to do, as it 
would have afforded me an opportunity not only to walk the 
deck of one of our floating bulwarks, in this distant sea, but 
to have renewed an acquaintance of my earlier days with the 
veteran commander. We met at the landing an officer and 
boat's crew from the squadron, from whom we learnt that the 
frigate had been for some weeks at Leghorn, and was to de- 
part the next day on a cruise, but that the Mississippi had 
been but three or four days in port. The few hours we re- 
mained on shore were occupied in viewing the city, which we 
were pleased to find had a general air of improvement. The 
present Grand Duke, we were informed, pays much attention 
to it, and is expending a considerable portion of his revenue 
upon it. A new public square, surrounded by very handsome 
blocks of buildings, is being built, in which is placed a colossal 
statue of his father, which was thrown down and mutilated in 
the insurrection some few years since, when the Italians made 
an unsuccessful effort to free themselves from Austrian tyran- 
ny, and for which they are now suffering, being more closely 
watched and restricted than ever. Austrian soldiers, in their 
white uniforms, are to be met with at every step, and new 
and onerous exactions are constantly being imposed. Until 
within a few months, a tax of one franc only was required 
from each passenger on landing, which imposition has been 
increased to four francs. This goes towards supporting the 
soldiery, whose business it is to keep down the spirit of the 



47 

people, and to render them, if possible, still more humble and 
abject than they now are — a sorry sight to one accustomed 
to the enjoyment of the largest liberty, as we Americans are. 
After getting a comfortable dinner at the hotel San Marco, 
kept by that well known and almost universal character, 
" John Smith," we returned again on board our steamer, 
which was to have left at five o'clock in the afternoon, but 
which did not get underway until an hour later, owing to a 
strong gale which was setting directly into the harbor, and to 
the circumstance of there being two or three other steamers 
getting underway at the same time, all having to pass out 
through the same narrow channel, and two of them, an Eng- 
lish propeller for Malta, and a French steamer for Corsica, 
getting foul of each other, and causing considerable delay to 
the rest. We found that the number of steerage passengers 
had been greatly increased during our visit on shore, by the 
addition of some hundred or more of Swiss peasantry, all 
young men, who had been enlisted as soldiers in the Neapoli- 
tan service, and who were going to Naples to be drilled for 
that purpose — and we were informed that a like number, and 
for a like purpose, went down in almost every steamer to 
Naples. These recruits are found, no doubt, fit instruments 
for perpetuating the tyrannical power of the King of the Two 
Sicilies over his down-trodden subjects. We had another 
specimen of the treatment of the treacherous ocean, again, 
to-night, the wind blowing a strong gale, and creating a short 
chopping sea, which was particularly distressing to most of 
us. We reached the little harbor of Civita Vecchia about 
eight o'clock in the morning. Here we found the French 
infantry of the line with their red trowsers, instead of the 
soldiers of the Austrian army, with their white coats, whom 
we had left guarding the liberties of the people of Leghorn, 
engaged in a similar employment here. What a melancholy 



48 



picture is here presented of the distracted and divided condi- 
tion of the Italian States, and what an impressive lesson does 
it teach us Americans. It was at Civita Vecchia that the first 
detachment of the French army landed, consisting of some 
nine thousand men, from whence they advanced upon the 
Eternal City. They professed the greatest friendship for the 
cause of liberty on landing, planted the tree of liberty in the 
public square, and invited the people to join with them under 
the specious emblems of " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," but 
no sooner were they in full possession of the town, than they 
threw off their disguise, disarmed the National Guards, and 
proceeded towards Rome — where, however, they met with a 
different reception, and only gained possession of it after 
some very hard fighting. We had on board the steamer 
with us, in addition to the recruits for the Neapolitan army, 
about twenty young soldiers, under the guidance of a superior 
officer from the principality of Parma, who have come on to 
Naples to be placed at a military academy, as cadets, to be 
perfected in their military education ; and as soon as our 
steamer dropped her anchor, the young Duke of Parma, who 
it appears is on a visit here to his connexion, the King, was 
alongside, in his boat, to welcome them on their arrival ; and 
so delighted did he appear at the sight of them, that it was 
difficult for him to avoid violating the laws of the port by 
jumping on board the steamer before the officers of the police 
should arrive to grant him permission ; but this he was con- 
strained to do for a considerable time, before these high dig- 
nitaries of the port arrived ; when they did come, however, 
some amends were made by these officers, who, with heads 
uncovered, and the most obsequious bows, ushered him 
on board. ' The officer who had these young men in charge, 
appeared to be of some order of nobility, as he wore a star 
upon his breast, and was most warmly embraced by the Duke 



A SUMMER S TOUR IK EUROPE* 49 

at their meeting. This Prince has, we are told, a very respec- 
table, well-drilled little army of his own already, which he is 
actively engaged in increasing in numbers and efficiency, and 
which it is supposed he would be most happy to lead on to 
aid his brother-in-law, the Count de Chambord, (formerly 
Duke of Bordeaux,) to whose sister, a daughter of the Duchess 
de Berne, he was not long since married, to gain possession 
of the throne of France. 

We found on our arrival here, which was on the 30th ult., 
that it was the birth-day of the King, and the troops of the 
line were all under arms, in the course of the day, dressed in 
their gayest attire, in honor of the occasion. Of all these 
troops, the Swiss are evidently the most effective of the Nea- 
politan army. * They are dressed in red coats with white pan- 
taloons, like the British infantry, and we are informed that 
they now compose a body of some ten thousand men, are great 
favorites of the King, and having stood by him so faithfully 
in his recent conflict with his rebellious subjects in Sicily, they 
are, of course, in great favor, are well fed and well clothed. It 
is stated that of a regiment of twelve hundred Swiss soldiers, 
in garrison at Messina, when the revolt took place, but three 
hundred escaped being killed or wounded — but they finally 
succeeded in repulsing the assailants. An officer who com- 
manded a company on this occasion, was a passenger on board 
the steamer with us, having been home to Switzerland, on 
furlough, on a visit to his friends. Judging from what we 
learn, the King of the Two Sicilies must be a man of great 
energy and decision. In addition to a numerous and well 
appointed army, he has a most respectable naval force, there 
being now in this port eight or ten ships-of war and war- 
steamers, and there are, besides, an equal number of ships-of- 
war and steamers in other parts of the kingdom. 

The night of our arrival being the last night of the Opera 
5 



50 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

season at the great theatre of San Carlo, and as it was the 
King's birth-day, and the house was to be illuminated with 
the addition of some eight hundred massy wax candles, we 
decided upon being present. The usual hour for the perform- 
ance to commence is eight o'clock, but it is the custom, it 
seems, on such extra illuminations, and when any of the 
royal family are expected to be present, to await their arrival 
before raising the curtain. On this occasion the audience were 
kept waiting until half-past nine o'clock, when none of the 
family making their appearance, the Opera was commenced, 
and the house certainly presented a most imposing appear- 
ance. The p>it is of great extent, and being very full, pre- 
sented the appearance of a sea of heads ; of these some two or 
three hundred were officers of the army and navy, seated 
together, dressed in rich uniforms, covered with gold and 
silver lace, of the most showy description. There are in the 
theatre six rows of boxes, and it holds altogether, comfortably 
seated, about five thousand persons. The operatic company 
was but of a second-rate character, and they elicited not the 
least applause from the audience. The ballet, which was to 
have followed the opera, was introduced at the conclusion of 
the first act of the latter, and after the ballet was over we 
were not tempted to remain to hear the last two acts of the 
opera, as it was then near midnight. The ballet dancers 
were no better than the opera singers, as compared with what 
we see and hear at Paris and London, although the former is 
got up with the advantage of beautiful scenery, good music, 
and numerous well dressed attendants and supernumeraries. 
There was one arrangement about the opera house which we 
have not noticed elsewhere — the doors leading to the various 
ranges of boxes are open to all well dressed persons, no ticket 
of admission being necessary. All who have taken boxes for 
the night can receive the visits of as many of their friends as 



51 

may choose to visit them in the course of the evening ; and as 
the boxes are very capacious, this mode of visiting is very 
common. In going and returning from the opera, we had an 
opportunity of viewing the illumination of the various public 
edifices, churches, hotels, &c, covered as they were with a 
great variety of colored lamps, so arranged as to represent 
numerous different objects and devices. 

We find that Naples has been thronged with strangers all 
the winter, mostly English and Americans, every one of the 
numerous hotels being crowded ; and although we are told 
that nearly all have now left, one would not suppose so, for 
the English Chapel, a handsome and capacious establishment, 
was very respectably attended on the Sunday after our arri- 
val. My sheet being full, and not wishing to trespass too 
much upon your columns, I will reserve any further observa- 
tions upon this interesting city and its vicinity, for another 
letter. A Traveller, 



LETTER IX. 



NAPLES, June 1. 
The unsurpassing beauties of the Bay of Naples, have 
ever been the enthusiastic theme of travellers ; and no one, 
I think, who visits it, will fail to subscribe to the truth of 
their statements in general, especially if afforded an opportu- 
nity of entering it on a beautiful summer's morning, be- 
tween daylight and sunrise, when its islands, its shores, and 
its surrounding mountains contrast so strikingly with its deep 
blue transparent waters. The commanders of the steam 
ships now so time their arrival, as to afford to passengers 
who are disposed to rise at this early hour, an opportunity to 



52 a summer's tour in Europe". 

view the Bay and the City to the greatest possible advan-> 
tage. This was the case when we arrived here on the morn-' 
ing of the 30th lilt. Most of the passengers were on deck by 
four o'clock, when it was announced that we were approach- 
ing the Bay ; and from this time until the sun had mounted 
up, and broke out in full view through the column of smoke 
which enveloped the top of Mount Vesuvius, every eye was 
rivetted to the enchanting scene around us. The picturesque 
islands, the near and more distant shores, and the numerous 
beautiful towns and villages which are nestled along the 
margin of the Bay, or suspended, as many of them appear 
to be, upon the mountain's sides, each and all in their turn 
enchained the attention of the observant voyager ; and the 
full extent and imposing appearance of the Crescent City 
(for so it may most appropriately be called), bursts upon the 
eye, as the sun in all its splendor shines down upon it, in its 
whole extent, at this bright morning hour. A feeling of 
regret seemed to be experienced by all when the steamer 
passed into the closely crowded harbor, and was enveloped 
in the midst of the mass of shipping, shutting out from our 
sight all the beauties of this enchanting scene. 

The city of Naples has heretofore been estimated as con* 
taining four hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, but it is 
now confidently believed, by those best qualified to judge, to 
contain at least half a million, exclusive of the great number 
of strangers who visit it during a portion of the year ; and 
one is very ready to believe it, when they see the dense 
crowds which fill its streets, and learn that every house is 
crowded to excess with people. Here, as in London and 
some other cities, the town is divided into two divisions or 
classes, so far as is to be observed in their out-door display 
of an afternoon. At the west end, from the king's town 
palace, along the front of the Bay, and the beautiful promen- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 53 

ade of the Villa Reaie, and extending on to the entrance of 
the Grotto of Posillipo, an ancient Roman tunnel, which 
passes under the mountain, and over which is the tomb of 
Virgil, may be seen in full display, all the beauty, wealth, 
and elegance of the nobility and gentry of Naples ; long 
lines of open carriages, three or four abreast, extend for a 
distance of some two miles in length, whilst the public 
promenade of the Villa Reale, shaded by numerous hand- 
some rows of trees, is filled with well dressed ladies and gen- 
tlemen, enjoying the refreshing breeze from the Bay, along 
which this walk extends for about half a mile. This is a 
scene to be witnessed every evening in the week, but more 
especially so on a Sunday evening. 

At the same time that this interesting sight is presented to 
the view of the stranger, one no less interesting, at least so it 
appeared to me, is to be seen on the eastern front of the city, 
extending from the Navy Yard, or Arsenal, as it is called, 
and the Custom House, along the shore of the harbor, to the 
very extensive line of buildings erected by Murat, when king 
of the Two Sicilies, as cavalry barracks. It is in this quarter 
that the great mass of the inhabitants, and of the lower orders 
in particular, are to be found. This is the residence of the im- 
mense numbers who gain their livelihood by fishing, and 
whose strong and capacious fishing boats fill the shore in one 
continuous line, nearly the whole distance. Here was the 
scene of Massaniello's successful revolt (at least for a time) 
against the royal authority ; and it was these numerous fish- 
ermen and sturdy mariners, and others, who sustained him — 
a scene made quite familiar to all by the popular opera bear- 
ing his name. It is here, I say, where the people may be 
likened in numbers to a hive of bees when about to swarm, 
so thickly do they throng the streets, that a contrast is to be 
seen with that which is presented upon the other extreme of 



54 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

the city ; and such is the incessant noise, the interminable 
bustle and confusion of this exciting scene, that it is almost 
enough to craze the head of one unaccustomed to its din. 

The first visit of our party out of the city, was made to 
the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. To them it was a 
scene at once new and most interesting ; and to me, although 
I had before repeatedly visited the first named city, and 
spent much time in perambulating its streets, and contem- 
plating its temples and its tombs, they can never cease to be 
objects of absorbing interest and excitement. Several new 
streets, too, have been opened in Pompeii since I first visited 
it, and some of the most perfect remains of fresco paintings, 
and other objects of remote origin, have been uncovered, 
especially in the street which was explored in the presence of 
the Emperor of Russia, who visited Naples some four years 
since, and those still more recently brought to light whilst 
the Pope was an inmate of the king's palace at Portici, 
during his exile, some eighteen months since, from Rome. 
The transition from the ruins of the city of Pompeii to the 
Royal Museum of Naples, where are deposited the immense 
collection of objects of art, from its excavated streets, houses, 
temples, &c, is the natural desire of every visitor ; and we, 
consequently, spent the two following days in diligently ex- 
ploring the various halls of this extensive pile of buildings, 
examining and admiring the almost endless variety of arti- 
cles of art, of ornament, and of use, which have been so 
industriously collected, and so religiously preserved, in this 
receptacle of the remarkable works of ages, long since passed 
away. One thing which struck us most forcibly in this 
review was, that the models for almost everything which is 
to be seen in these our days, is to be found in this extensive 
museum, rescued from these ancient ruins, which would 
induce one to believe in the saying, that there is indeed 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 55 

" nothing new under the sun." The articles of food also 
found in the kitchens and baker's shops at Pompeii, in a won- 
derful state of preservation, such as bread, meat, rice, eggs, 
fruits of various kinds, &c, are not amongst the least won- 
derful objects in this great collection. 

Mount Vesuvius is at present in a rather quiescent state, 
sending up only occasionally clouds of smoke. The ascent 
to it has been rendered more easy of late, by the opening of 
a carriage road from the village of Eesina to the Hermitage 
— the resting-place near the foot of the crater, where the 
visitors generally repose themselves after the ascent. The 
king, too, has erected a house in this vicinity, for the accom- 
modation of such of his family, and distinguished friends, as 
may be desirous of ascending the mountain. This visit is, 
however, rather an expensive one to a large party, each lady 
being charged five dollars for the open sedan chair in which 
she is carried up the ascent, and the other numerous charges 
for horses, guides, &c, mount up to a pretty large sum. 

The excursion to the desolate ruins of Baiae, some twelve 
or fifteen miles to the southwest of the city, along the shore 
of the Bay, is one most generally taken by travellers who 
have time for it, and is considered particularly interesting 
from associations familiar to those versed in classic lore, who 
are enabled to understand and appreciate the various his- 
torical facts which are brought to their notice by those who 
undertake the part of guides on the occasion. Amongst 
other objects of interest connected with Scripture history, 
which are shown to you, is the precise spot where St. Paul 
is said to have placed his foot, where he stepped on shore at 
a small village on the Bay, when journeying towards Rome. 
The site where Baise once stood, now presents a great exam- 
ple of the mutability of human affairs. The men of those 
days have passed away — the magnificent edifices are destroy- 



56 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

ed — the soil presents nothing but broken blocks of ancient 
fabrics, palaces, and villas, once occupied by Marius, Caesar, 
Pompey, Nero, Adrian, and the other great men of those 
days, the foundations of many of whose dwellings are now 
covered by the waters of the Bay, under which they may be 
seen ; and here, where numerous fleets and armies were once 
congregated, all is now desolate and deserted. 

Another excursion of great interest is to view the gigantic 
temples at Pcestum, now in a deserted and desolate condition, 
though still in a wonderful state of preservation. It is, how- 
ever, a journey of two days, and to a region which is consid- 
ered insalubrious at this season of the year ; our party did not 
therefore undertake it. 

To visit the various Royal Palaces, and other public places 
which are thought to be worthy of attention, with the principal 
Churches, &c, requires of those whose time is limited, to be 
constantly on the alert. The King's Palace, in the centre of 
the city, which is his winter residence, has been almost entirely 
rebuilt or renovated within a few years, having been partially 
destroyed by lire some time previous. It is now r decorated 
with all that art and taste can furnish for its embellishment. 
It is at present unoccupied, the King, with his immediate 
family, passing the summer at his beautiful country palace, 
most romantically situated, some twenty miles from town, on 
the side of one of the mountains which terminate the Appe- 
nine range, and which has a beautiful and most extensive 
view of the bay, the city, the islands of Capri, of Ischia, and 
of Procida, and of all the surrounding country. There is, also, 
his stately palace and most extensive park of Capo de Monte, 
in the immediate suburbs on the north of the city, and from 
the front of which there is the best view anywhere to be had 
of the most densely populated part of it, and where the peo- 
ple, crowded together as they are in lofty houses and narrow 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 57 

streets and alleys, present the appearance of an immense ant- 
hill in constant commotion. We had a permit to visit this 
palace, but found on our arrival that every part of it was occu- 
pied. In addition to the two brothers of the King, there was 
also there, on a visit, we were informed, the Duke d'Aumale, 
son of Louis Philippe, with his family, and several others. 
We were, however, allowed to pass through the highly im- 
proved grounds of the park, which affords numerous shady 
drives of some five or six miles in extent, through seven or 
eight beautiful avenues, which diverge like the rays of the sun 
from the palace. The King has another fine palace at Portici, 
which was the temporary residence of the Pope, whilst at 
Naples, and numerous other stately establishments either for 
his own use or that of his adherents. 

The public buildings, indeed, in this city and its vicinity, 
are all upon the largest scale. The Poor House, whose* exte- 
rior looks much like a palace, is capable of accommodating six 
thousand inmates, but we are told is not more than half 
filled, beggars preferring to be at large, although obtaining a 
precarious support. There are also Hospitals upon a very 
large scale, in which the wants of the sick are attended to ; 
and two prisons, situated in the centre of the most thickly 
populated portion of the city, the largest of which, upon a 
public square, presents long rows of grated windows, where 
the prisoners are enabled to hail their passing acquaintances, 
or others, whom they may please to assail with their discord- 
ant and frequently insolent cries. The quarters for the soldiery 
are still more numerous, and are to be met with at every turn, 
the town seeming to be dotted all over with them. So much 
importance does the government attach to this means of sup- 
porting its authority, that every point is fortified, and we 
noticed yesterday a cannon mounted in the belfry of the 
Church of the Carmelites, in a position to rake one of the 



58 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

long narrow streets, where the people might be disposed to 
collect and make a stand in case of an emeute, as the French 
term it. This is in the immediate focus of Massaniello's men 
of former days, and where the materials are always at hand 
in abundance when an outbreak is contemplated. 

We yesterday paid a visit to the new Cemetery, a few miles 
out of the city, which, for the short time it has been in exist- 
ence, may be viewed as a wonderful work. Some are dis- 
posed to think it even now ranks before the far-famed one of 
Pere Lechaise, at Paris. The site, however, is not so favora- 
ble a one as that at Paris, the ground being rather too pre- 
cipitous ; but the number of beautiful chapels and temples, 
many of which are built in the form of, and resemble in ap- 
pearance, small churches, in which the dead are deposited, 
and the numerous beautifully executed tombs and monu- 
ments, some erected by individual families, others by the con- 
gregations of separate churches, and others again by associa- 
ted companies of individuals, in which the most elaborate 
work of art is employed on the most beautiful of marble, far 
exceed, in my estimation, anything of the kind of which Pere 
Lechaise can boast — and when we remember that all this has 
been accomplished in some twelve or fifteen years, and that 
there are at this time almost an equal number partially fin- 
ished, we cannot but marvel where the wealth comes from 
that accomplishes so much in so short a period of time. The 
practice which prevails at this Cemetery in disposing of the 
dead, is to bury the body in a grave either in or beside these 
temples or chapels, and at the end of eighteen months to re- 
move the remains to a niche in the temples themselves, in 
front of which the name is inscribed, generally in raised brass 
or bronze letters. Those who cannot afford to buy themselves 
such a resting place, may be interred by their friends, if they 
chance to have any, at the moderate expense of two dollars 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 59 

for a grave for eigbteen months, at the end of which time the 
body is liable to be disturbed, unless a further sum is paid for 
its possession in perpetuity. In cases of the entirely destitute, 
the bodies are thrown into a series of pits, one of which is 
opened every month and then closed up for a year or eighteen 
months, when it is again opened for a similar purpose. 

The great mass of the lower orders in Naples live upon 
very moderate fare, mostly upon a coarse description of bread, 
with some vegetables and fruit. Both of the latter are abun- 
dant at this season of the year. Fish also enters largely into 
the consumption of those who follow the occupation of taking 
them, or who can afford to buy them, and they, from their 
abundance, may be had, too, for very little money. Meat is 
seldom used much, I apprehend, by the masses ; that and 
maccaroni, of which they are said to be remarkably fond, are 
only to be indulged in at times as a luxury. 

The street beggars have of late become so sturdy and im- 
portunate, that strangers have found it almost impossible to 
pass, especially in the vicinity of the churches, and other 
places of public resort, and their violence has been such as in 
some instances to take hold of ladies who were walking by 
themselves. This has had the effect to deter many who were 
heretofore willing to dispense their charity to those who ap- 
peared to be deserving of it, from doing so in future, and this 
may render it necessary for those who have heretofore been 
supported by the bounty of strangers, (for they seldom apply 
to one of their own people for charity,) to take refuge in the 
Poor Houses, and depend upon the authorities for support. 

In front of the hotel in which we lodge, the Victoria, and 
between that and the public promenade Villa Reale, which is 
immediately opposite to it, the government have been for 
some short time past engaged in boring for an artesian well. 
They have already penetrated three hundred feet through the 



60 A SUMMER'8 TOUR IN EUROPE. 

solid rock, without coming to water, but are determined to 
persevere still further. The spot chosen is immediately upon 
the margin of the bay. 

I have thus, Messrs. Editors, given you a hasty sketch of 
my observations for a week past in and about Naples — to- 
morrow morning we start for Rome, where you may again 
hear from me. Yours, &c, 

A Traveller. 



LETTER X. 



ROME, June 12. 
Our party reached this ancient city, on the evening of the 
10th instant, after a very pleasant journey of three days, — 
distance about one hundred and forty miles. We had sent 
our carriage forward on the afternoon of the 7th, and at eight 
o'clock the following mornino; took the rail road cars for 
Capua, some twenty miles, where it terminates. Our visit to 
Naples had been a very agreeable and interesting one, and 
we left it with regret. When a stranger arrives in that city, 
especially if he goes there by sea, and views the lofty, barren 
and serried volcanic mountains, by which it is surrounded, he 
is at a loss to account for the great abundance of vegetables, 
fruits, and flowers, with which its streets and market places 
abound, or from whence they come ; but his doubts on this 
subject are removed when he is afforded an opportunity of 
visiting the rich prolific vales with which the city is environed, 
and which extend in all directions between these lofty hills 
and mountains. The rail road over which we passed that 
morning, runs through one of the most extensive of these 
vales, which presented to our view wide-spread fields, covered 



a Summer's tour in europe;. 61 

with a luxuriant growth of wheat, Indian corn, beans, hemp, 
<fcc. Much of the former was already ripe and ready for the 
reapers, whilst the beautiful squares in which the grounds are 
generally laid out, covered with corn, beans, and hemp, all 
green and growing, afforded a pleasing contrast to the golden 
grain of the former, and altogether presenting the appearance 
of a gigantic chequer-board. In the midst of this cheerful 
vale, at the foot of the mountain range which terminates at 
Caserta, is the summer palace of the King, and one can scarce- 
ly imagine a more desirable location for a princely residence 
than this. In addition to the extensive fields of waving grain, 
the plain is covered with rows of poplar trees, which support 
festoons of luxuriant grape vines extending along the road for 
many miles, in continuous lines, and presenting altogether 
one of the most pleasing sights which it is possible to con- 
ceive. Quitting the rail road at Capua, where we found 
assembled great numbers of the peasantry from the country, 
and people from the town, in their holyday attire, decked out 
with ribbons and flowers, and many of them carrying slight 
poles six or seven feet in length, at the top of which were 
affixed small branches of the olive tree, flowers, &c, all busily 
engaged outside the walls of the town, in celebrating the 
anniversary of some one of their patron saints. The peculiar 
costumes of these people, and the earnestness with which they 
appeared to enter into the spirit of their amusements, made 
the scene quite an interesting one to us. Stopping at St. 
Agatha for two or three hours in the middle of the day to 
rest, we reached Mola de Gaeta before sunset, and put up for 
the night at one of the only two stopping places in the town, 
both of which occupy the site which was once the beautiful 
Villa of Cicero, and near to which is the spot where he was 
murdered, and upon which is a marble tower, said to have 
been erected to his memory by some of his freedmen. The 



62 

house at which we slept has all the appearance of having been, 
in ancient times, a palace. It stands in the midst of beautiful 
grounds of several acres in extent, filled with numerous fruit 
trees, comprising all the varieties of this prolific clime, inclu- 
ding oranges, lemons, olives, cherries, peaches, plums, pom- 
granates, pears, quinces, grapes, and the like. The ground is 
laid out in front of the extensive mansion down to the sea, 
upon which it fronts, in regular terraces, supported in many 
places by the remains of marble pillars and walls, some of 
which are now submerged by the sea, which has made, and is 
slowly making, sad inroads upon it. Around us, as we passed 
along the avenues of these remains of ancient grandeur, were 
to be seen the broken fragments of marble images, and other 
evidences of the splendor with which the villa must have 
abounded in the days of its great proprietor's prosperity. 
Indeed, our whole day's journey from Naples, presented to 
our view at every step the remains of palaces and of monu- 
ments with which these entire regions abounded in ancient 
times. And passing over the remains of the Appian Way, 
(now modernized by substituting the improvements of Ma- 
cadam,) the mind cannot but revert, at every turn, to the time 
when this entire country was covered with towns and cities, 
which have passed away, the names even of many of which 
are lost in the lapse of time. 

The town of Gaeta, five miles from the Mola, where we 
slept, is situated upon an elevated peninsula, which makes out 
into the sea, and which is connected with the main land, by a 
narrow neck. It has a population of some ten thousand in- 
habitants. It is surrounded by a lofty wall, and is defended 
by one of the strongest fortifications in the Neapolitan territo- 
ries, and as it is near the frontier of the kingdom, is garrisoned 
by a strong detachment of the army. In 1806, it opposed a 
long resistance to the French, and, in 1815, to the Austrian 
troops. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 68 

Leaving Mola de Gaeta at an early hour, we passed, during 
the morning, the boundaries between the Kingdom of the 
Two Sicilies and the States of the Church, and rested for some 
hours at Terracina, the first town of any importance in the 
dominions of the Pope. At this point commence the long 
celebrated and much dreaded Pontine Marshes, which occupy 
a space of twenty-four miles in length and from six to twelve 
miles in breadth. The waters flowing from the surrounding 
mountains had, from time immemorial, settled upon these 
marshes, and rendered the surrounding country unhealthy. 
Great efforts had been made, from time to time, and immense 
sums expended, in attempts to drain them by means of canals, 
but it is stated that they were all unsuccessful, until, in 17*78, 
Pope Pius VI. believing that he might reclaim to agriculture 
valuable lands, exceeding one hundred thousand acres in 
extent, undertook new works, the execution of which he con- 
fided to the celebrated engineer Ropini, who collected all the 
waters and united them in a canal, which w 7 as dug by the 
side of the Via Appia. This canal, which is wide and of a 
good depth, and which it appears by the inscriptions upon 
stones erected at certain distances along the road, was com- 
pleted in 1*793, fifty-eight years since, seems to have answered 
the contemplated purpose most effectually, and the waters 
now pass through it to the sea in a steady and uninterrupted 
stream. To keep it open and prevent its filling up, a number 
of cattle of the buffalo breed are employed during certain 
seasons of the year to clear out the grass which grows up 
from the bottom of it, and this is effected by compelling them 
to swim along it, and with their sharp hoofs cutting up the 
grass andstirring up the deposites at the bottom, which are 
carried off by the current into the sea. The beautiful road 
by the side of which the canal runs, is probably not equalled 
by any one of the same extent in the world — it runs for four 



64 



or five and twenty miles in a straight line, is adorned on either 
side by stately rows of elm trees, by which it is amply shaded, 
and is kept constantly in most excellent order. The marshes 
are now in a high state of cultivation, covered mostly with 
extensive fields of wheat and hay, some of the fields extending 
on either hand almost as far as the eye could reach, without a 
fence or hedge to intercept the view, presenting a sight which 
I have never before seen equalled — something approaching to 
it in extent I did indeed witness at about the same period last 
summer, when passing down the valley of the Shenandoah 
from Staunton to Winchester, in Virginia, where the German 
farmers have wheat fields approaching towards these in extent. 
These lands would seem to be inexhaustible ; resembling, too, 
in some measure, the rich alluvial rice lands of the Carolinas 
and Georgia. Their produce is conveyed to market in fiat 
tow-boats along the canal, which were to be seen piled up 
with loads of new made hay as we passed over the road. No 
one resides upon these extensive marshes, unless it be the 
shepherds who tend the numerous flocks and herds which 
feed upon those parts which are appropriated to this purpose — 
herds of cattle and horses, flocks of sheep and droves of hogs 
in almost endless numbers, are here to be seen. The cattle 
are divided into two kinds, and kept entirely separate. The 
ordinary neat cattle are, with scarcely an exception, either of 
a dingy white or mouse color, while the buffalo breed are all 
black, and possess the peculiar form and appearance of that 
animal ; the horses are nearly all black ; the sheep are gene- 
rally white, but dirty in appearance ; the hogs were invariably 
black, looking sleek and shiny, with very few bristles, and it 
was remarked that the larger hogs were kept entirely by 
themselves, as were also the pigs of a few months old— they 
all seemed to depend upon the grass for support, which they 
were one and all devouring with the greatest avidity, and of 



a summer's TOUR IN EURO PS. 65 

which there was an abundance for all. The marshes termi- 
nate on the side nearest to Rome, at a bridge called Torre 
True Ponti, and we had to ride some eight or ten miles, after 
leaving them, over an equally straight and beautiful road, 
however, to the town of Cisterna, where we put up for the 
night. It was at this place that some historians have located 
the "Tres Tabernas," Three Taverns, where the Christian 
brethren repaired to meet St. Paul, as mentioned in the Acts 
of the Apostles, but its distance from Rome renders this im- 
probable. The people in this neighborhood appear to be 
more energetic and industrious than in other parts of the ter- 
ritories of His Holiness, and withal much better farmers, 
judging from the indication of their lands, fences, &c. Ac- 
cording to Pliny, the population of the tract of country bord- 
ering on the Pontine Marshes was, at a very remote period, 
so considerable, that there existed here no less than twenty- 
three cities, and that their environs were covered with villas 
and country houses, occupying extensive enclosures, the ruins 
of many of which are still visible. 

Leaving Cisterna the next morning, we passed over what is 
termed the Sabine Hills to the town of Velletri, the ancient 
city of Latium, belonging to the Volsci, and which was de- 
stroyed by the Romans. It is remarkable for its Cyclopean 
walls, the ruins of the Temple of Hercules, and that of Castor 
and Pollux. We paused for two or three hours at the city of 
Albano, said to have been built four hundred years before 
Rome, from which it is distant about eighteen miles. It 
stands upon the brow of a lofty eminence, which overlooks the 
extensive plain upon which Rome is built, and where the 
traveller, coming in this direction, first obtains a view of the 
great dome of St. Peter's — the sea is here in full view, being 
only about seven miles distant. Albano is full of historical 
recollections. The ancient Latium way, over which the road 
6 



66 



now passes from Albano to Rome, is lined witli trie ruins of 
tombs and temples, which render the ride extremely inter- 
esting to the traveller and antiquarian. 

The journey terminated by our arriving at Eome, in very 
good season, but the city had a very dull appearance to us on 
entering it, when contrasted with the busy hum and constant 
noise and bustle of Naples. We are told, however, that Rome 
is very far from being in a quiet state. Great anxiety is felt 
lest some outbreak should burst forth ; and it is believed that 
nothing but the presence of the French army keeps the people 
quiet. The Pope, who is considered 'to be a good, well- 
meaning man, who would willingly ameliorate the condition 
of his people, if they would allow him to do so, is so com- 
pletely broken down in spirit by the domineering conduct of 
the Cardinals, who lord it over him, that he will not now 
open his lips upon the subject of politics. 

Two Roman soldiers were shot on the morning of our arri- 
val, in accordance with the sentence of a Court Martial, for 
having been concerned in the brawl, in which some French 
soldiers were killed, a short time since. Two or three others 
were also sentenced to be shot the following day, but have 
been respited. The Pope is said to have done all he could to 
save those who were shot, but had not the power to do so. 
They were executed, too, in the Pope's uniform, and in the 
most public square in the city — a very unusual thing — in the 
presence of women and children ; and the whole ceremony is 
said to have been conducted in the most revolting manner. 
It seems to have produced a very bitter feeling against the 
French. 

I may write you again, Messrs. Editors, before leaving the 
city, if anything occurs worthy of notice. 

Yours, &c, A Traveller. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 67 



LETTER XL 

ROME, June 20. 

This city is now estimated to contain from one hundred 
and forty-five to one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, 
of which a very large proportion are priests, or persons 
attached to the church in various subordinate capacities. 
This great body of ecclesiastics now rules the destinies of the 
States of the Church, sustained in their power in this portion 
of the territory by a French army of ten or eleven thousand 
soldiers, and in other portions of the States by the Austrians. 
The Pope, we are assured, abstains entirely from any inter- 
ference with political affairs. 

The city still bears marks of the desolating effects of war, 
when it was besieged and bombarded by the French during 
the entire month of June, two years since. But no where 
do these marks of destruction so forcibly strike the stranger 
as in the ruins of the beautiful Villa Borghese, which imme- 
diately adjoins the city, and which was formerly the resort 
both of visitors and the people of the city, who thronged its 
varied avenues, its walks and drives every afternoon, availing 
themselves of the umbrageous shade of its lofty trees and 
groves, now, alas, cut down and destroyed, and with its 
spacious palace levelled with the ground. The Villa is now 
abandoned by the family, and has been leased out to a 
farmer, who mows the hay and feeds his cattle 1ipon the 
grass which grows amidst the numerous marble statues and 
monuments scattered over its extensive lawns. Most fortu- 
nately, the splendid Museum or Gallery of Paintings and 
Statuary, considered to be second only to those in the Vati- 
can and on the Capitoline Hill, was saved from destruction 
by the general commanding on that side of the city, whose 



68 A SUMMER S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

men were encamped in the Villa, and who hoisted a flag 

npon it, indicating that it was used as a hospital, and thereby 

saved from harm its invaluable contents. It is still opened one 

afternoon in each week to visitors, and is, as it will doubtless 

ever continue to be, one of the most attractive collections of 

this city of attractions. But the most sanguinary conflicts 

between the French army and the Roman volunteers, who 

fought bravely in defence of their city, took place upon the 

high grounds on the other side of the Tiber, in the rear of 

St. Peter's and the Vatican ; and the Villa Corsini, and the 

Villa Doria Pamphilia, with several others in the same 

direction, remain as monuments of the desolation caused in 

that direction by an invading army. The lofty ruins of the 

first-named Villa, which was taken and re-taken by the 

French and Romans several times in the course of a single 

day, at the point of the bayonet, now present the same sad 

spectacle they did when the city surrendered, being entirely 

abandoned. 

Our party has now been ten days in Rome, and by dili- 
gent application we have been enabled to visit most of the 
objects of greatest interest which it contains. The limit of 
my letter would not permit me, were I ever so desirous of 
doing so, to enter into any general description of the city 
itself, or of the wonderful works of art with which it abounds, 
although a much better opportunity is afforded visitors at 
this season to see and examine everything than during the 
winter months, when the city is crowded with strangers, and 
every place of public resort is filled to overflowing. At this 
time, too, one is afforded a better opportunity of seeing the 
Roman people themselves, and of judging of their appear- 
ance and character, than when mixed up with crowds of 
people from all the other nations of the earth. But it must 
be remembered that it is to these strangers that they are 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 69 

mostly indebted for their means of support, large sums of 
money being* annually expended here by travellers for objects 
of art, which they carry away with them. 

There may be seen here, even at this day, a great diversity 
of dress and appearance amongst the Roman people them- 
selves. One portion occupying the right bank of the Tiber, 
still adhering in costume and habits to those of their ances- 
tors some thousand years since ; whilst those on the other 
side of that stream, the resort altogether of travellers from 
other countries, are most of them arrayed like their visitors, 
in the latest Parisian fashions. The Roman ladies, who are 
not exposed to the sun and weather, have all the delicacy of 
complexion to be met with in more northern climes, whilst 
those females who are thus exposed, are nearly or quite as 
dark as our North American Indians. So great was the 
animosity which is stated to have existed within a few years 
between the lower orders of people residing on the respective 
sides of the river, that frequently fights took place, which, on 
some occasions, could only be restrained by calling out a 
military force for the purpose. 

The imposing religious service of High Mass, which takes 
place at the Sistine Chapel, in the Vatican, on each Sabbath 
morning, generally attracts a numerous attendance, especially 
of strangers, all of whom are naturally desirous of seeing the 
Pope and Cardinals in their rich robes, and to listen to the 
delightful music which always attends the religious ceremo- 
nies in this chapel. Our party was present, and witnessed 
these exercises last Sunday morning ; but the number of 
strangers in attendance was very small, compared with the 
crowd which is frequently pressing for admission during the 
season. 

The English Episcopal Chapel, which has been established 
just without the gate of the Piazza del Popolo, for some 



70 



years, is still kept open, and I understand is very well sus- 
tained, especially in the winter months ; indeed there was a 
very respectable congregation present on Sunday, they hav- 
ing a regular clergyman who officiates at all times. During 
the last year our Charge d' Affaires, Mr. Cass, obtained per- 
mission from the Pope to open an American Protestant 
Chapel within the city ; and a suitable place having been 
obtained for the purpose, religious services have been had 
there for several months, and until very recently, when the 
reverend gentleman who had officiated, removed out of the 
city. During the winter season this place of worship was 
very well attended, there being an unusual number of Ame- 
ricans in Rome — at one time about four hundred and fifty. 
Now, however, the number is so much reduced as to render 
its being temporarily closed less a matter of regret. 

There are at present in Rome several resident American 
artists — some of established reputation, and others of much 
promise, who are industriously occupied in their respective 
pursuits. Of these, Mr. Crawford, the sculptor, already well 
known to his countrymen, is engaged upon a colossal statue 
of Washington, twenty-seven palms in height, which is to 
surmount the monument now being erected at Richmond, in 
memory of the Father of his Country. We have here also 
another aspirant for fame in the same department — a younger 
brother of Mr. Horatio Greenough, who executed the massy 
statue of Washington, now in the city bearing his name, 
and who has just completed a highly interesting group of 
marble statues for the same place, with which it is under- 
stood he is about to leave Florence for the United States. 
This young artist, whose studio I visited a day or two since, 
is now at work upon a group representing Pharaoh's daughter 
and the infant Moses, at the moment when, stepping into the 
river to bathe, her eyes fall upon the little stranger. It is 



11 



quite original, differing entirely from all other conceptions of 
the scene which have been delineated, and tells the tale so 
simply and intelligibly as to elicit the admiration of all 
who have seen it. In the same studio is a most striking and 
beautiful original head of the Saviour, nearly completed, in 
marble, which reflects the highest credit on the artist. 

Amongst the American painters is Mr. John G. Chapman, 
who has been residing for some eighteen months in Italy, 
pursuing his art, and who has already acquired so distin- 
guished a reputation at home, especially in his elaborate 
illustrations of the Pictorial Bible, published a year or two 
since by the Harpers, in New- York, and other works of great 
extent and merit. He is mostly engaged upon original 
works; but I saw at his studio a beautiful and highly- 
finished copy of Murillo's Madonna, which he had just com- 
pleted for a friend in New- York. 

Mr. Terry, another American artist of established repu- 
tation, who is sedulously engaged upon works of originality, 
is now occupied in duplicating copies of one of his highly- 
estimated paintings representing Jacob's Dream, for which he 
has constant orders. There are several other artists in Rome 
whose studios I have not had an opportunity of visiting. 

As our country increases in prosperity and wealth, a dis- 
position to encourage and appreciate the Fine Arts keeps 
pace with it ; and no where is this taste more strongly 
evinced than in this city, where so many opportunities are 
afforded of indulging in it ; accordingly we find that nearly 
every visitor is either purchasing or ordering copies of the 
most remarkable paintings or statues which it contains. 

Mr. Cass, who represents our country at this court, from 
his long residence here, and especially from the favorable 
opportunity afforded him during the late revolution, when 
every Roman seemed to think that the destiny of Rome 



72 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



itself was about to be fulfilled, and was therefore ready to 
part with the most precious gems, we are happy to learn, has 
availed himself of these opportunities, and will be enabled to 
enrich his country with many valuable additions. We learn, 
also, that one of your own citizens, Mr. Arthur Middleton, 
who is sojourning here, has recently become possessed of 
several highly-prized original paintings. 

Yesterday was the great fete day of Corpus Domini, and 
the weather being highly favorable, all Rome may be said to 
have turned out to honor it. Having previously secured 
seats in one of the galleries fronting upon the great square 
of St. Peter's, we repaired at the early hour of eight o'clock 
in the morning to take possession of them ; but, in conse- 
quence of the great press of people, literally blocking up 
many of the avenues leading to the church, we were obliged 
to take a long circuitous drive to reach its vicinity ; but we 
were, however, by dint of perseverance, in our places just at 
the moment when the grand procession commenced entering 
from the Vatican ; that portion of the sides of the great 
square which is not covered by the massy colonnade which 
sweeps round on either side, in front of the church, had been 
covered in by a wide and lofty canopy, adorned by party-colored 
festoons of silks and cambrics, interwoven with bright green 
festoons, tastefully formed of the leaves of box- wood — a pro- 
fusion of which leaves w T ere also spread over the entire route 
of the procession, which had been first covered with a bright 
yellow loam to make it soft to the tread of the vast numbers 
w T hich were to pass over it. First in the procession came a 
long train of youths, clad in black gowns, reaching down to 
their feet, each one carrying in his hand a large wax candle, 
and preceded by a massy crucifix ; to these succeeded in 
regular order, the various and numerous religious societies or 
orders recognised by the Romish Church, each section habit- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. ^3 

eel in the peculiar garb of their sect, some of thern being 
clad in the plainest and coarsest attire imaginable, whilst 
others seemed to be as rich and gorgeous as it was in the 
power of man to make them. Each different order was pre- 
ceded by a richly-mounted cross, with a distinctive canopy or 
banner, indicative of its name and object, all with bared 
heads, and each one carrying in his hand a lighted candle, or 
flambeau made of several candles ; and at various points in 
this part of the procession were choirs of singers, who chant- 
ed their sweet devotional music as they moved along. This 
extended and apparently endless part of the procession, had 
been three quarters of an hour passing in front of us, when 
the discharge of a cannon announced that his Holiness had 
left the Vatican, and taken his position in the line ; and in 
some fifteen minutes more, the splendid array of Cardinals, 
with their numerous richly-dressed attendants, who imme- 
diately preceded the Pope, came in sight of our stand. At 
this time, the chiming of apparently all the bells in the city, 
the firing of distant cannon, and the music of the numerous 
civil and military bands stationed at different points on the 
great arena before us, was truly exciting. The Poj^e was 
supported on an elevated richly-decorated chair, crowned by 
a golden canopy, borne by some six or eight handsomely 
attired men, and guarded on either side by members of his 
Swiss body-guard, in their very peculiar military costume. 
The chair was decorated and hung round with the most 
costly silk and golden fabrics, and the head of his Holiness 
was bared and bowed down during the passing of the pro- 
cession, as if he were engaged in earnest prayer. The entire 
line of the procession was guarded on either side by detach- 
ments of foot soldiers of the French army, who ail kneeled 
as the Pope passed them. In the procession, very near to 
his Holiness, were borne very large bouquets of the most 
7 



74 A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 

beautiful flowers, with two massy collections of the richest 
ostrich feathers, mounted in velvet and gold, which, it was 
said, had been presented by Napoleon to Pius VII., who, it 
will be recollected, very reluctantly repaired to Paris to 
crown him Emperor of France. Immediately following the 
Pope came the military portion of the procession ; and first 
was the mounted body-guard, composed of the younger 
branches of the noble families of the States of the Church, 
in the most rich and beautiful uniform, red coats, and hel- 
mets of a peculiarly appropriate shape and richness. These 
were followed by General Gemeau, the Commander-in-Chief 
of the French army of occupation, surrounded by a numer- 
ous staff, and with them a large body of veteran French 
cavalry, being detachments from the several regiments on 
duty in the city and its vicinity ; these were succeeded by a 
body of Roman cavalry, who brought up the rear, and closed 
this most interesting and imposing spectacle. 

The religious portion of the procession had passed into the 
body of the church, as they reached it in succession, when the 
usual services attendant upon these solemn occasions were 
performed ; but they were all at an end before we could 
make our way from the position we occupied on the eastern 
front of the square to the church. 

The people of Rome are seen to much advantage on one 
of these great festal days ; everything like business is laid 
aside, every store closed, and all come forth to enjoy the 
scene, dressed in their best attire. Nor is the assemblage 
confined to the people of the city, but those from the 
country flock into town in great numbers, dressed in the old 
Roman costume, which yet so generally prevails in the rural 
districts, many of them travelling on foot, we are told, thirty 
or forty miles, in order to be present. 

We have now been upwards of a month in Italy, and 



75 

have found the weather uniformly cool and pleasant, the 
thermometer at no time having ranged above eighty degrees, 
although it has been one continued bright sunshine every 
day. We leave to-morrow for Florence, so adieu for the 
present. A Traveller. 



LETTER XII. 



FLORENCE, June 30. 
We consider ourselves as particularly fortunate, since we 
have been in Italy, in being afforded opportunities of witness 
ing several of the most interesting religious celebrations which 
take place here during this season of the year. Our arrival 
at Naples on the morning of the birthday of the King, and 
being present at Rome at Corpus Christi, or Corpus Domini, 
as it is often termed, and then arriving here on the afternoon 
of the 23d, just as the grand ceremonies attendant upon the 
festa of Saint John the Baptist, were about to commence, may 
be set down as amongst these advantages. On reaching our 
hotel, which is situated between the principal bridges which 
cross the Arno, and which fronts upon that river, we observed 
at once the great preparations which had been made for illu- 
minating the city, and for a most imposing display of fire- 
works, the lofty erections for which occupied the entire length 
of one of the bridges, and in full view of two others, as well 
as of the entire range of hotels and dwellings for a great ex- 
tent, on either side of the river. A large number of boats, 
dressed out with awnings, lanterns, and flags of the gayest 
description, were also in readiness to receive that portion of 
the people who preferred viewing the display from the water. 
A floating stage, arranged for a numerous orchestra, which 



t6 A SUMMER'S TOUR tS EUROPE. 

was to move up and down the river during the night, was 
moored directly in front of our hotel. As soon as daylight 
began to disappear, the lighting up of the innumerable lamps 
commenced, and in the course of half an hour the whole river 
may be said to have been in a blaze, for the long lines of 
double rows of glass lamps on either side of the river, reflected 
in the water, produced that appearance. The boats at the 
same time began to be filled with crowds of people, princi- 
pally of the humbler classes, whose merry voices filled the air 
with their rejoicings. About half-past eight o'clock the dis- 
play of fire-works commenced, and was kept up without inters 
mission, for an hour and a half, and we have never before 
witnessed anything of the kind, either in our own country or 
in Europe, of a more beautiful or imposing character — the 
effect of which was much enhanced by the constantly passing 
up and down the river, under the several bridges, of the great 
number of brilliantly-lighted and variously decorated boats, 
accompanied by a powerful band of instrumental music, 
together with the sweet and sonorous voices of an Italian 
populace. Some of the more permanent pieces of the pyro- 
technic art remained, in their full lustre, for a very considera- 
ble period after the rockets, the balloons, the wheels, and 
various other devices had disappeared. Of this number was 
the representation of a lofty temple, or palace, which attracted 
the notice and admiration of all. A large portion of the more 
sedate inhabitants, satisfied with the beautiful display, had 
retired to their homes before midnight ; but there were others, 
and they not a few, if one could judge by the noise which 
they kept up, both in the streets and upon the river, who did 
not give up the sport much, if anything, before daylight, fully 
satisfying those whose homes were in the immediate vicinity, 
that there may be too much even of a good thing. The next 
day, the 24th, at an early hour, the troops were assembling 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 77 

at their respective places of rendezvous, preparatory to the 
grand military display which was to form a portion of the 
imposing ceremonies of the day. The great mass of the 
people, too, were moving about in every direction during the 
early part of the forenoon, dressed in their holiday attire, 
every shop and place of business being closed. About eleven 
o'clock, the procession from the palace of the Grand Duke, 
attended by a long line of superb carriages, each with six 
large and beautiful horses, decorated with the richest trap- 
pings, and surrounded by numerous attendants, dressed in 
the richest liveries, and escorted by the body-guard and elite 
of the Tuscan army, moved towards the Cathedral — the entire 
length of streets through which the cortege passed being 
crowded with people — and I noticed that although there is a 
very strong body of Austrian troops of the line stationed in 
and around Florence, they took little or no part in the milita- 
ry escort on this occasion, but mixed, in their undress uni- 
forms, amongst the people. High Mass was performed in the 
Cathedral in the most imposing form ; and to us, simple Re- 
publicans, the gorgeous dresses and dazzling wreaths of dia- 
monds displayed by the Grand Duchess, and the ladies in 
waiting, who accompanied her to the church, together with 
the great number of high military and state officers who were 
assembled around the Duke, rendered the scene one of the 
most imposing kind imaginable. 

The religious ceremonies of the morning being over, the popu- 
lace assembled in the afternoon, along the entire line of the 
street of the Corso, on either side of which ample rows of 
seats, extending from the ground to the windows of the se- 
cond story of the houses, had been erected for their accommo- 
dation, to witness what in this part of the world is termed a 
horse race, but which differs so much from anything of the 
kind with which we are acquainted, that in our minds it 



*78 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

partakes very much of the ridiculous ; the horses here run- 
ning through the streets, helter-skelter, without riders, in the 
most comical confusion. On this occasion, however, the racing- 
was even more ridiculous than usual, for at the moment of 
starting, when every one was on tip-toe for the sight, one 
only of the poor beasts came dashing down the course by 
himself, whilst his competitors were nowhere to be seen, and 
shortly after, we were informed that the other two (there being 
but three to start) had broke from their grooms and dashed 
off in another direction. To make up for this sad disappoint- 
ment, however, in not seeing three horses rush through the 
street together, it was ordered that the race should be repeat- 
ed on the following day, and we were told that nine horses 
were to be started on this occasion. Even this addition to the 
sport did not tempt us to lose another afternoon, and we 
therefore merely drove through the course, and found it filled 
to overflowing, as on the previous daj T , with eager expectants, 
including the Grand Duke and his suite, and continued our 
drive out to the beautiful Corsino and its neighborhood. On 
our return, we were informed that we had lost nothing from 
being absent, three horses only running in the manner already 
described. 

The religious ceremonies of the festa of Saint John were 
again resumed on the 26th, and extensive processions formed 
in different parts of the city. That which we witnessed enter- 
ing the great Cathedral, was the most extended and impo- 
sing — it was escorted by a select body of the military, with a 
numerous band of musicians, that sacred emblem of the 
Church, The Host, occupying a most conspicuous place in it, 
and all the people, with which the streets were thronged, 
kneeling in humble reverence as it passed, the bells of the 
numerous churches in the city chiming alternately throughout 
the day. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 79 

A visit to the ancient and venerable city of Pisa, on the 
way from Rome to this city, afforded the most pleasing evi- 
dence of its recent improvement. The rail roads from Leg- 
horn, Florence, Siena, &c, which now radiate from it, appear 
to have infused a new spirit into its inhabitants, which is 
evidenced in the construction of new edifices and the improved 
appearance of the old ones. Our stay at Pisa was, necessarily, 
short ; but no travellers can ever pass through it without visit- 
ing that cluster of buildings composed of the Cathedral, with 
its baptistry, the Campanile or leaning tower, and the Campo 
Santo or cemetery, a group considered to be more interesting 
than any other four edifices of a similar character in the world. 
The highly finished and easy rail road from Pisa to Florence, 
passing as it does, in its whole extent, through the beautiful 
valley of the Arno, presents, at every point, the most interest- 
ing views. The entire distance, upwards of sixty miles, from 
Florence to where the river enters into the sea, some ten or 
twelve miles below Pisa, is in the highest state of cultivation, 
exhibiting unmistakable evidence of the skill and diligence of 
the farmers. The grounds are divided into compact squares, 
rows of moderately sized trees, mostly elms, extending at right 
angles with the road, and opening beautiful vistas towards 
the rising grounds on either hand — these trees are, one and 
all, covered with grape vines, which are generally supported 
by them separately, and not hanging in festoons from tree to 
tree, as in many other parts of Italy. About three-fourths of 
the land is covered with wheat fields, now entirely ripe, and 
much of it already harvested — the remainder is nearly all 
planted in Indian corn, which is observed here to be of a pecu- 
liarly low growth, much of it, although apparently nearly at 
its height, not measuring more than two or three feet from 
the ground. The elevated land, which rises at a distance 
from the plain, on both sides of the road, is covered with 



80 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

villages, villas, and cottages, presenting beautiful objects to 
the eye. One of these villages, San Miniato, was the original 
residence of the Bonaparte family, before they emigrated to 
Corsica. Many of these hills have upon them beautiful 
clumps or groves of what is called Stone Pines, — trees of a 
peculiarly pleasing and unique form, adding much of pleasing 
effect to the landscape. About midway between Pisa and 
Florence, is the ancient town of Empoli, where the rail road 
branches off to Siena. It is possessed of an active and indus- 
trious population, and at the villages between this place and 
Florence is carried on, to its greatest extent, the manufacture 
of Leghorn straw hats, bonnets, &c, which are sent to all 
parts of the world. Even the little boys and girls, as they 
stood by the road side, watching the cars on their arrival, 
were busily engaged with their fingers in braiding the straw ; 
and the banks of the Arno, a large portion of the bed of which 
is dry in summer, were in many places covered with this pe- 
culiar straw, which is cut before it is entirely ripe, and here 
spread out to dry, preparatory to use. 

The artists in Florence, like those in Rome and Naples, are 
all busily engaged in multiplying copies of the great masters, 
both in painting and sculpture, and in designing and execu- 
ting the conceptions of their own genius. Our countrymen 
who are particularly distinguished as sculptors, Messrs. Powers, 
Greenough, and Ives, have still their studios here. Mr. 
Powers is now at work upon a beautiful female figure, emble- 
matical of " America." It is the size of life, but it is to be 
hoped that Congress will, at its next session, direct one of 
colossal size to be executed for the Capitol at Washington, 
which would reflect undying honor upon the artist and upon 
his country. He has recently sent home for one of the most 
munificent patrons of the arts in our country, Col. John S. 
Preston, that heavenly revelation of his genius, his " Eve" Jr 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 81 

trust that it will reach its destination in safety. Mr. P. has also 
just completed a bust of Mr. Calhoun, from that portion of the 
mould of his full length statue, now in Charleston, which he 
is about to send off to be placed beside his " Greek Slave" 
in the great exhibition in London. Mr. Greenough left Flo- 
rence a short time since for England, and he may visit Ame- 
rica before his return here. His highly interesting group of 
figures, intended to adorn the American Capitol, is in a high 
state of forwardness, and will soon be completed. It repre- 
sents one of the early settlers of the Western wilderness in 
the act of arresting the arm of an Indian, whose uplifted 
tomahawk is about to fall upon the devoted head of the wife 
and child of the woodsman, whose opportune arrival at the 
critical moment enables him to rescue his family, and to visit 
upon the cruel savage that death which he was about to 
inflict upon a weak and defenceless woman and her child. I 
believe the group has been named " The Pioneer" but it is 
thought that " The Rescue " would be equally appropriate. 
At the studio of Mr. Ives, there is just finished a fine marble 
bust of Gen. Winfield Scott, which is considered an excellent 
likeness of the veteran soldier. In visiting the numerous gal- 
leries and studios with which this city abounds, and in which 
are to be found many of the finest objects of art of which the 
world can boast, I have been pleased to find that a large 
portion of the copies which have been recently completed, or 
which are now in progress, are destined for the United States. 

On the Sabbath, visitors here have an opportunity of hear- 
ing service in the English language, either at the Episcopal 
Chapel, or Scotch Presbyterian Church, both of which have 
regular resident clergymen. 

The Opera House in Florence is a very handsome edifice, 
the interior presenting a rich, airy, and imposing appearance. 
It has five tiers of boxes, a capacious parquette, is well lighted, 



82 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

and capable of seating comfortably two thousand five hun- 
dred persons. The evening we were present, the opera of 
Ernani was performed, with a ballet representing the Destruc- 
tion of Missolonghi. The operatic company was only second- 
rate, which seems to be the best that any of the Italian cities 
can boast of, all the best Italian artists being tempted to 
London, Paris, or St. Petersburg, and sometimes to America ; 
but the Italian Opera Houses are unsurpassed in the beauty 
and effect with which they get up their ballets — the great 
extent of the stage in most of them admitting of a grand dis- 
play of musicians, dancers, soldiers, villagers, &c, in the 
dressing and decorations of which no expense is spared, and 
the result generally is that this description of entertainment is 
not exceeded, if it is equalled, in any other of the theatres of 
Europe. This was particularly the case in the ballet of the 
Destruction of Missolonghi — the beautiful Turkish and Alba- 
nian costumes were here seen to the greatest advantage, and 
the final massacre of the inhabitants, ransacking and blowing- 
up of the town, when every soul upon the stage appeared to 
be covered up in the ruins, exceeding anything in artistic stage 
effect, which I have ever witnessed. It seems peculiarly hard, 
however, that in Florence, particularly, where we are told 
" the modern opera was born," where entire dramas were first 
set to music and performed, should now be obliged to content 
herself with second-rate performers. 

There were at the hotel in which we are lodged, a few days 
since, three scientific American gentlemen, Professors in differ- 
ent Colleges in the United States, who, availing themselves of a 
few months respite from their labors, are making a hasty tour 
of Europe, with the view, no doubt, of increasing their store of 
scientific knowledge. These gentlemen were the venerable 
and indefatigable Dr. Benjamin Silliman, Professor of Che- 
mistry in Yale College, New Haven ; his son, Benjamin Silli- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 83 

man, Jr., Professor of Chemistry in the College at Louisville, 
Kentucky ; and Josiah Parsons Cooke, Jr., recently appointed 
Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University, Cambridge, 
and in the Medical College at Boston, in place of the late Dr. 
Webster, of unenviable notoriety. 

Florence still possesses the appearance of activity and pros 
perity, although we are told it is much less so than it was two 
or three years since, before the attempted revolution — then 
the taxes were light, and many strangers, particularly the 
English, had located themselves in the city, and its enchant- 
ing suburbs, who spent large sums of money annually in their 
midst — but the revolutionary movement drove many of these 
away, and brought in their stead an army of ten thousand 
Austrian troops, who are distributed over the territory, and 
who are supported by increased taxation. This necessarily 
renders the people unhappy and discontented, and notwith- 
standing the Grand Duke appears to do all in his power to 
ameliorate their condition, yet a feeling of distrust and uneasi- 
ness evidently exists in the community, not only here, but in 
Leghorn, Pisa, and other cities of the principality. The pri- 
vate fortune of the reigning prince is stated to be very great, 
rendering him one of the richest potentates in Europe ; and it 
would appear that he applies his income very liberally in im- 
provements of a public character. One thing in particular 
which he has effected, and for which every traveller should 
be thankful, for it relieves them in a great measure from an 
annoyance which is intolerable in other cities of Italy — he 
has established an almshouse, into which all who are found 
begging in the streets are sent, and where those who are 
able are set to work, and where all are comfortably provid- 
ed for. When the last census was taken, some five or six 
years since, the population within the wails of the city num- 



84 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

bered nearly one hundred and seven thousand, and it does 
not probably now vary materially from that number. 

To-morrow we leave, en route for Bologna, Ferrara, and 
Venice. A Traveller. 



LETTER XIII 



CROSSING OF THE APPENINES. 



BOLOGNA, July 3 
The journey from Florence to this city, a distance of sixty- 
three Italian miles, is one of much interest. I passed over 
this mountain range some twelve years since, in the month 
of November, in a violent tempest of wind and rain, when it 
presented a very different appearance from what it did yes- 
terday. Now everything upon the mountain slopes, and in 
the valleys which lie between them, is of the loveliest green. 
The day was cool and pleasant, and saving one or two acci- 
dents, the journey was altogether one calculated to leave 
pleasing recollections on the memory. We left Florence at 
an early hour, in order to accomplish the ride by daylight : 
this was rendered necessary, as the first half of the way was 
one continued ascent. We had just commenced our second 
post from Florence, when one of the wheel horses was found 
to be so weak, from being over worked, that he fell to the 
ground, and it Avas not without much exertion that he could 
be placed upon his feet again. This being effected, "however, 
we again got under way, and by good management and 
attention, the poor beast was enabled to go through his task, 
and reach the end of his route. We parted with him and 
his cruel rider, with an intimation to the latter that we 



85 

should report hirn to the master of the posts for imposing 
such a miserable outfit upon us. We nevertheless reached 
the summit of the mountain range, twenty-five miles from 
Florence, in very good time, passing on the way Caffaggiolo 
— a palace built by Cosmo de Medici, the renowned mer- 
chant prince, whose favorite residence it was. It was here 
that one of his descendants, Pietro de Medici, afterwards, in 
July, 1576, murdered his wife, the beautiful Eleanor of 
Toledo ; and it is also related, that in the same month, 
Isabella de Medici, one of the most beautiful and accom- 
plished women of the age, who spoke with fluency and 
elegance the Latin, French, and Spanish languages, was 
strangled by her husband, Paolo Giordano Orsini, at his Villa 
Cerreto Guidi — sad blots upon the escutcheon of a great and 
illustrious family. In the neighborhood of this palace, the 
views over the Appenines are most beautiful ; the mountain 
ranges are variously divided into ridges, between which lay 
extensive vales covered with most luxurious vegetation — with 
vines, mulberry, and lofty cypress trees and boxwood hedges, 
throwing out a strong and pleasant odor. Descending four 
or five miles from the summit, there is a very comfortable 
house, situated in a wild but sheltered mountain valley, 
where travellers generally pass the night when they do not 
accomplish the journey in a single day. Here we were served, 
at a very short notice, with a good dinner, which was no 
doubt more highly appreciated from the circumstance that 
our appetites were sharpened by the bracing air of the moun- 
tains, which, at this elevation, even in July, renders an over- 
coat quite agreeable. Starting again on our descent, in great 
good humor with our mountain cheer, we had proceeded 
only a few miles when our careless postillion drove us 
against a small cart of the country, drawn up by the road 
side, breaking, by the concussion, the pole of our carriage, 



36 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

thus destroying all our hopes of an early arrival at Bologna. 
This brought on a violent and unprofitable dispute between 
our courier and the postillion, as to who was in fault. When 
this was quieted, we set ourselves to work to remedy the 
evil, and with the assistance of some country people who 
witnessed our disaster, and came to our assistance, we were, 
after an hour's delay, enabled so to lash up the shattered 
pole with cords, as again to set out ; and these lashings most 
fortunately holding together, we made our descent down the 
mountain without further accident, reaching our hotel in this 
city before dark. The entire distance from the time we leave 
the walls of Florence until we reach the plain upon which 
Bologna is situated, is one unbroken range of mountain 
ridges, through which the road necessarily runs in various 
directions — in one instance for two or three miles upon the 
topmost ridge, the builders being compelled to avail them- 
selves of every possible winding to overcome the numerous 
difficulties ; but this is accomplished wonderfully well, and 
the face of the entire road is of the firmest and smoothest 
description, and with our drivers in America, the drag would 
seldom if ever be resorted to, but it is here constantly put in 
requisition, at almost every turn. 

Bologna, you are aware, is amongst the oldest of the 
Italian cities, and is the next in size and importance in the 
States of the Church to the Eternal City itself; it has a 
population estimated at upwards of 67,000, and they are 
considered to be amongst the most industrious and thrifty of 
any in the Popish dominions. It is the capitol of the most 
important Legation of the Holy See, which embraces in its 
whole extent a population of upwards of 322,000 souls, and 
a superficial extent of one hundred and eighty square 
leagues. There are but few foreigners who take up their 
permanent residence here, compared with the numbers who 



87 

resort to Rome, Florence, and Naples. There are, neverthe- 
less, many things here worthy of the notice of travellers : 
the Campo Santo, or place for the burial of the dead, is not 
surpassed by anything of the kind in the largest cities of 
Europe. It is of great extent when compared with the 
population, and it possesses one interesting peculiarity — it is 
surrounded in its entire extent, upwards of a mile and a half, 
with lofty ranges of corridors, upon the fronts and in the 
insides of which are arranged various marble figures and 
effigies, with inscriptions designating the family name, arms, 
<fec, as well as the names of the individuals who have been 
interred within the respective vaults, which are so arranged 
in the walls that the bodies are placed therein by an opening 
in the rear, without impairing the beauty and symmetry of 
the entire front of the corridors. The whole interior of this 
large enclosure is laid out in squares, adorned with rows of 
cypress trees and box, tastefully trimmed ; and one of the 
most pleasing circumstances attendant upon the whole 
arrangement, is the considerate provision for the gratuitous 
interment of the poor and destitute of the city within these 
beautifully arranged squares, every such grave being num- 
bered, registered, and held sacred for twelve years, in order 
to afford the friends or relatives, if a fortunate turn in their 
affairs should take place, to have their remains removed to a 
more eligible part of the cemetery, and any monument or in- 
scription placed over them which affection might dictate. It 
is stated that 140,000 interments have been made here 
since its first establishment, which was fifty years since, being- 
more than twice the present number of the inhabitants of the 
city. The exterior front of these extensive lines of corridors,, 
which are also arched and covered in, bear the marks of the 
staples driven into them at given distances, some two years 
since, by the Austrian cavalry, when they entered the city, 



88 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

and put down the temporary republican government, and 
converted this outer portion of the Campo into barracks for 
themselves and stables for their horses. 

Bologna contains numerous churches, in which are to be 
seen some of the best paintings of Guido and Dominichino ; 
but being placed generally in a very bad light, they cannot 
be seen to advantage. Some few of the best, which were 
taken down and transmitted to the Louvre by command of 
Napoleon, and which retributive justice afterwards restored 
to their rightful owners, have been, by the order of the 
government, placed in the Gallery of the Academy of Arts, 
where we had an opportunity of inspecting them under 
more favorable circumstances, and which are now within the 
reach of modern artists, many of whom are engaged in 
making copies of them. One of these artists, with whom we 
fell into conversation, was a young French Canadian, who 
informed us that he had been five years studying his profes- 
sion in the various cities of Italy, in which he had evidently 
made great progress, if we might judge from the work in 
hand, and that he intended, ere long, to return home, taking 
with him several of the productions of his pencil. 

This was quite an interesting day, too, in the Academy, it 
being that on which the annual distribution of prizes was 
made to those considered most deserving in works of sculp- 
ture and painting. The occasion had drawn together in the 
principal hall of the institution, not only the directors, but 
numerous amateurs and artists, all anxious to learn the deci- 
sions of the judges. 

The streets in the city of Bologna are peculiarly construct- 
ed, having, on either side of most of them, commodious lines 
of corridors or porticoes, some ten or twelve feet in width, 
many of them very well proportioned arches, and hand- 
somely ornamented, under which side walks the public can 



89 

pass at all times, perfectly sheltered and protected both from 
the rain and sun, so that a lady can leave her home at any 
time upon a shopping excursion, and pass all over the city 
without having occasion for an umbrella or parasol. In the 
year 1814, when Napoleon made his last effort to sustain his 
hold upon power, this city was for a time in possession of a 
body of British troops, under Gen. Nugent, who landed at 
the mouth of the Po, with the view of making a demon- 
stration in favor of the Austrians, who were operating against 
the French on the Aclige. 

As we were leaving Florence, we were very strongly ad- 
vised by our banker not to take the road by Ferrara to 
Padua, on our way to Venice, but to go round by the way 
of Mantua and Verona, as there was a report of several rob- 
beries having been recently committed upon travellers in the 
vicinity of Ferrara. We made inquiries upon the subject at 
Bologna, but were assured that the reports were unfounded. 
One robbery had indeed been committed, we were told, some 
months since, not far from Ferrara, and one man was killed 
in the conflict, but nothing of the kind had occurred recently, 
and we have, therefore, decided upon taking the most direct 
route at an early hour to-morrow morning ; so, if you should 
not hear from me again shortly, you may suppose that we 
have fallen into the hands of the brigands. You may 
remember a circumstance which occurred some where in 
Italy not many years since, where a young gentleman, the 
son of a wealthy merchant, having been taken by brigands, 
was conveyed into one of their retreats in the neighboring 
mountains, and the father notified that if he would deposit a 
certain sum of money in a specified place, before a given day, 
his son should be set at liberty ; but, if he failed to do so, or 
if the sum thus deposited should be less than the amount 
named, he might expect to have his son's body remitted to 
8 



90 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

him in instalments, in exact proportion to the amount so 
deposited. All I have to request of you is, that if such 
a fate should befal me, and such a demand be made upon 
you on my account, that 3-011 will remit the whole amount 
required, as I have no fancy for being ransomed by instal- 
ments. If I get through safe, you may expect to hear from 
me again at Venice. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XIV 



VENICE, July 7. 
You will infer, Messrs. Editors, I presume, from the above 
named place and date, that the brigands did not catch us, on 
our journey from Bologna to Ferrara, as was to be apprehend- 
ed from the report of our Florentine banker. On the contra- 
ry, we had not only a safe, but a very pleasant jaunt of it. 
The day was delightfully cool and pleasant, and a plentiful rain 
the preceding day had effectually laid the dust. The road, too, 
is one of the finest in Italy, and although we saw two or three 
mounted gens d'arms and two small patrols of Austrian sol- 
diers upon the road, this only served to show us that if unfa- 
vorable reports had been abroad, every necessary precaution 
had also been taken to protect travellers from harm. The 
road to Ferrara, like all the roads in Lombardy, passing over 
level plains, are kept in the best state of preservation, and are 
everything which can well be desired. The entire face of the 
country is under excellent cultivation, the land generally very 
rich, and some of it susceptible of irrigation, which enables 
the farmers to cultivate one of Carolina's staples to a conside- 



A BUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 91 

rable extent, and I was forcibly reminded of home by discov- 
ering several extensive rice fields, and numerous hands em- 
ployed in weeding the " swamp seed," which appeared to be 
about four or five inches high. But much the largest portion 
of these rich bottom lands were covered with a most luxuriant 
growth of hemp, some of it seven or eight feet in height, and 
of a deep green color ; the other fields were generally in In- 
dian corn or wheat. Having started from Bologna at five 
o'clock on the morning of the 4th, we reached Ferrara be- 
tween nine and ten, and could not but experience a feeling of 
regret to find it presenting such a melancholy picture of di- 
lapidation and decay. Once a flourishing city of upwards of 
one hundred thousand inhabitants, it is now reduced to 
about twenty-five thousand ; nearly all trade and commerce 
appearing to have deserted it, and the bustling and thrifty 
mechanics which are to be met with in the more fortunate 
cities of Italy, are no more to be seen in the streets of 
Ferrara. The people listlessly sauntering about the public 
squares, and in the extensive old market place, presenting, 
upon a rather enlarged scale, the appearance so well described 
by Goldsmith, in his poem of the Deserted Village. Whilst 
our passports were being examined at the police office, we 
went into the extensive old Cathedral, a dark and sombre 
edifice. Some dozen priests were chaunting the morning 
service, and here and there might be seen solitary individuals 
kneeling at their devotions ; but here, as throughout the 
town, everything had the appearance of desertion and decay. 
The route from Ferrara to Padua lies over a similarly extend- 
ed plain, generally under excellent cultivation, and abounding, 
both on the road side and in the fields, in extensive rows of 
beautiful poplars, bearing the name of the country, and 
which have been so generally introduced into the United 
States. In a few miles from the city, we reached the river 



92 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

Po, a wide and somewhat rapid stream, which divides the 
States of the Church from the Austrian territory of Lombar- 
dy. The river is crossed in a good sized ferry boat, which is 
carried across in a somewhat novel manner ; it was at least 
new to most of our party, who had never before witnessed 
anything of the kind. It consists of a row of some eight or 
ten small boats or batteaux, which extend in a line directly 
up the stream at a given distance from each other, the upper- 
most being anchored in the middle of the stream. When the 
ferry boat is upon one side of the river, therefore, the current 
presses strongly upon that side of all this line of small boats, 
and when she is pushed off, the line which attaches her to 
them being affixed to the middle of her, she receives an impe- 
tus which propels her forcibly to the opposite shore, and the 
consequence is, that in the shortest conceivable time, consid- 
ering the distance, you find yourself safely landed on the 
other side, without the slightest exertion on the part of the 
boatmen. The order of the line of boats being then reversed 
by the action of the stream, she is ready for a start back again 
to the shore from whence she came. The crossing of this 
river, and that of the Adige, which we did in a few hours 
after, by the same process, brought to mind the stirring scenes 
which had been enacted upon their banks, and in their vicini- 
ty, during the French revolutionary war, where Bonaparte 
commenced laying the foundation of his great military fame. 
Nor were the scenes of war and bloodshed alone pressed upon 
our recollection during the afternoon's ride ; for a short dis- 
tance from our route, upon a cluster of elevated hills which 
spring up from the widely extended plains over which we 
were passing, stands the little village of Arqua, to which Pe- 
trarch retired in his old age, and where his remains lie en- 
tombed. Many travellers, whose time will admit of it, make 
a resting place at a small post-town in its vicinity, and pro- 



93 

curing horses mount up to the village to pay their tribute of 
respect to the memory of this great writer of antiquity. We 
had stopped at Rovigo to dine, and although several thou- 
sand miles from our homes, we did not forget that it was the 
anniversary of our national independence, and in a glass of 
indifferent champagne (the best, however, which the house 
could afford) we drank to the perpetuity of our republican 
institutions, and to the permanent peace and prosperity of the 
American people. We arrived at Padua in time to look at its 
celebrated Cathedral, and then take the cars for this city, 
which we reached shortly after eight o'clock in the evening. 
This mode of entering Venice is so different from that which 
was necessary 'a few years since, that one who has been obliged 
in former times to approach it in uncomfortable boats, through 
eight or ten miles of narrow muddy lagoons, can scarcely 
realize the fact that he has been wafted from Padua to the 
banks of the Grand Canal, in the centre of the city, in a little 
over an hour's time. On arriving at the terminus, you find a 
great number of boats or gondolas in attendance, ready to 
convey the traveller to any part of the city he may desire, 
and the several hotels have sign-boards placed upon poles, 
designating their respective large and capacious boats as the 
"omnibus" sent to take them to the Hotel Royal, the Hotel 
de Europe, the Hotel San Marco, &c. This rail road, which 
now extends from Venice to Verona, will in a short time be 
extended to Milan, a distance of about two hundred miles. 
That portion of the road next to the city, which crosses the 
principal lagoon between it and the main land, was extremely 
expensive — a little over two miles of it having cost upwards 
of a million of dollars. It is built in the most substantial and 
durable manner on arches of hewn stone, upon piles of great 
length and size driven into the mud. Availing themselves of 
its construction, the projectors have placed under this part of 



94 



the road, on either side, an aqueduct, intended to convey an 
ample supply of water to the city at some future time. The 
establishment of this road has evidently given a new impetus 
to the trade of the place, although it experienced a severe 
check, occasioned by the revolutionary movement two years 
since, in consequence of which the Austrian government im- 
posed an onerous tariff upon its trade, which had previously 
been free. But the young Emperor, who visited the city a 
few months since, and who was received by the people with 
much respect and even enthusiasm, has determined that Ve- 
nice shall again be made a free port, and the 20th of this 
month is the day fixed upon for carrying this most desirable 
measure into effect. The consequence is, that the most ex- 
tensive preparations are making to celebrate it, and the great 
square of St. Mark, with the church, the palaces, and other 
extensive public edifices on the line of the Grand Canal, are 
to be most brilliantly illuminated on the occasion. 

"We met on our arrival here with a number of American 
naval officers, who had come over in the steamboat from 
Trieste, where an United States squadron, consisting of the 
frigate Independence and steamship Mississippi, are now lay- 
ing. The former had been in that port for some time, but the 
Mississippi arrived there early on the 3d instant, last from 
Tunis, where she had proceeded from Marseilles, with the 
United States Consul for that Regency, John Howard Paine, 
Esq. The Mississippi must be doing excellent service on this 
station, for we either hear of her or see her at every place we 
visit, — her steam power enabling her to move in any and 
every direction, which it would be very difficult for a sailing 
ship to accomplish in these seas during the calms of summer. 

In our visits to the churches of Venice, I find few, if any, 
changes made of late years. In one of them, however, there 
is in process of erection a splendid marble tomb, or rnonu- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 95 

nient, to the memory of Titian, the great painter, in the niche 
where his body was interred, and which has, heretofore, been 
marked only by a plain marble slab, upon which his name 
was inscribed. This mausoleum is being erected by the order, 
and at the cost, of the reigning Emperor, who seems deter- 
mined that this long contemplated but tardy act of justice to 
the memory of the great artist, shall now be carried into 
effect. It may be remembered that the noble and imposing 
monument, not long since erected to the memory of Canova, 
the eminent modern sculptor, and which had been designed 
by that artist as a monument to the memory of Titian, but 
which was not quite finished at the time of Canova's death, 
was afterwards converted into a memorial of the sculptor him- 
self, and placed in a niche in the church immediately opposite 
to that in which the remains of Titian reposed. Now, when 
the Emperor's design shall be completed, the two great monu- 
ments, placed opposite to each other, will give to this ancient 
church an importance and notoriety unsurpassed by any other 
similar edifice in the city. 

We yesterday visited the somewhat celebrated Armenian 
Convent, situated upon the little island of San Lazaro, in the 
lower harbor. It scarcely covers more than an acre of ground, 
but is most securely and neatly walled around, in the midst of 
which stands the neat little church of the convent. Its walls 
are surmounted by a Turkish minaret, and surrounded by an 
extended colonnade, on either side of which may be seen nu- 
merous fruit trees and flowering shrubs of every kind, present- 
ing the appearance of a little paradise. There are about fifty 
monks attached to the convent, and they are, many of them, 
men of great learning and piety. The institution being well 
endowed, they are enabled to keep everything connected with 
it in the best condition for comfort and convenience. There 
is attached to it a printing- office, where translations of many 



96 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

of the most esteemed English works have been printed in the 
Armenian language ; and one of our party purchased there a 
beautifully printed and richly bound book, containing certain 
prayers of their order, printed in twenty-four different langua- 
ges. It was here, where there is an extensive Armenian 
library, that Lord Byron spent much of his time, during six 
months, in acquiring a knowledge of that language. The 
monks are all subjects of the Grand Seignor, and hoist the 
Crescent as their national flag. The brother who attended 
our party over the establishment, was polished and gentle- 
manly, and spoke English quite fluently. Portraits of the 
present, and several of the former Sultans of Turkey, adorn 
the rooms of the convent, as do likewise those of several dis- 
tinguished Armenian merchants, benefactors of the institution, 
who reside in different parts of the world, and particularly in 
Calcutta. 

Americans, who have visited Venice within the last fifteen 
or twenty years, may be interested in learning that their old 
North-Carolina acquaintance, the negro man Martin, who so 
long officiated as porter, interpreter, &c, at the Hotel de 
Europe, paid the great debt of nature last year. He has left 
two sons, who are employed in the same establishment, one of 
whom speaks very good English, which is quite an uncommon 
thing in any of the Venetian hotels, scarcely any of the ser- 
vants understanding a word of that language. 

I observed this morning, in front of the ancient palace of 
the Doges, brokers with various samples of Lombardy rice of 
different qualities, which they were offering for sale : it was 
generally much broken, and none of it would compare, either 
in size or pearly whiteness, with that grown in Carolina ; but 
we found it very sweet and well flavored when served at table. 

As an evidence of the great number of Americans now 
travelling in Europe, we have at this time in the Hotel Hoyal, 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 9? 

at which we are stopping, no less than eighteen, exclusive of 
six or eight naval officers from the squadron at Trieste. 

A Traveller, 



LETTER XV. 



MILAN", July 11. 

Two days travel from Venice, — about half the way by rail 
road, whole distance two hundred miles, — brought us to this 
city, the capitol of Lombardy ; the face of the country, through- 
out the entire route, presenting the appearance of a regularly 
laid out garden, in the highest state of cultivation. We took 
the cars at Venice, at half-past ten in the morning, and pass- 
ing the famous old city of Padua, soon found ourselves at 
Vincenza, and were forcibly reminded that it was in the neigh- 
borhood of this city that some of the hardest fought battles of 
Napoleon took place, when he invaded Italy, in 1796. 

The main Austrian army having taken up a position on the 
heights of Colognola, overlooking the village of Coldiero, near 
to Vincenza, were there, on the 11th November, assailed by 
Napoleon. He directed Massena to commence the attack 
upon the right wing of the Austrian army, where the heights 
appeared to be the most accessible, and his advanced guard 
succeeded in gaining possession of an eminence surmounted 
by a mill, which the Austrian general had neglected to oc- 
cupy ; but the imperialists returning in force, regained the post, 
and made the brigade which had taken possession of it pris- 
oners. The action continued throughout the day along the 
whole line, without decisive success to either party ; but the 
rain, which fell in torrents, and the mud which clogged their 
wheels, prevented the French artillery from being brought up 
9 



98 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE* 

to meet the fire of the Austrian columns. Wearied and 
dispirited they drew back at night, yielding for the first time 
in the campaign the victory, in a pitched battle, to their ene- 
mies. Very soon after this success of the Austrians, however, 
they were again assailed by the undismayed legions of Napo- 
leon, on the field of Arcole, and it was upon the bridge bear- 
ing that name, that Bonaparte achieved one of the most 
daring and desperate acts of his whole military career. At 
daybreak, on the 15th of November, Gen. Massena advanced 
against the Austrians, and pushed his forces as far as the 
Bridge of Arcole, but he was here met by a strong detach- 
ment of the Austrian army, and driven back, whilst the latter, 
crossing the bridge, attacked the division of Gen. Augereau ; 
but they were repulsed, and followed to the bridge by the 
victorious French — when there commenced a desperate strug- 
gle. The republican column advanced with the utmost in- 
trepidity, but they were received with so tremendous a fire, 
that they staggered and fell back. Napoleon, deeming the 
possession of Arcole indispensable, not only to his future ope- 
rations, but to the safety of his army, put himself with his 
generals at the head of the column, seized a standard, and 
advanced, without shrinking, through a tempest of shot, and 
planted it on the middle of the bridge. But the fire here 
became so violent that his, grenadiers hesitated, and seizing 
the general in their arms, bore him back, amidst a cloud of 
smoke, the dead and the dying. The Austrians instantly 
rushed over the bridge, and pushed the crowd of fugitives 
into the marsh, where Napoleon lay up to his middle in 
water, while the enemy's soldiers, for a minute, surrounded 
him on all sides. The French grenadiers soon perceived that 
their commander was left behind — the cry ran through the 
ranks, " Forward to save the General !" and returning to the 
charge, they drove back the Austrians, and extricated Napo- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE* 99 

leon from his perilous situation. During* this terrible strife, 
Gen. Lannes received three wounds, his aid-de-camp, Gen. 
Meuron, was killed by his side, when covering the general 
with his body, and almost all his personal staff were badly 
wounded. The battle continued with various fluctuations 
throughout the 16th and l7tli, but the French were finally 
victorious. 

Whilst resting for a short space of time in the vicinity of 
this celebrated spot, so strongly was I impressed with the 
recollection of this scene upon the Bridge of Arcole, that I 
could not refrain from condensing the foregoing brief sketch, 
of it. 

We stopped to dine at the beautifully situated and inter- 
esting old city of Verona, the scene of Shakspeare's celebra- 
ted tragedy of " Romeo and Juliet," where the guides will 
show you what they are pleased to call Juliet's tomb, and the 
coffin in which she was laid ; but it requires a pretty good 
stretch of imagination and credulity to believe in their identi- 
ty. One object of interest to the traveller, at Verona, is the 
Amphitheatre, which is cotemporaneous with the Colloseum 
at Rome, and is in a much better state of preservation than 
that colossal edifice, owing to the great care which has been 
taken, from time to time, to keep it in repair. It will con- 
tain, seated, about fifty thousand persons. At present, there 
is a small temporary wooden theatre erected within its arena, 
where light pieces are performed for the amusement of the 
populace. I chanced to be present in this city in 1838, when 
the late Emperor of Germany was on his return from Milan, 
where he had been to be crowned with the iron crown of 
Charlemagne, when he met the assembled multitude, who 
flocked to the city to see him, in the Amphitheatre, which 
was filled to overflowing on the occasion. The rail road from 
Venice terminates at Verona, for the present, but will in a 
few years be extended to Milan. 



100 A SUMMER S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

In the afternoon we rode on to the lake of Garda, at the 
foot of which is situated the strongly fortified town of Peschi- 
era, where the waters of the lake are discharged, forming the 
river Mincio, which, flowing around the battlements of the 
town in wide and deep trenches, would seem to render it 
almost impregnable. It was taken from the Austrian garri- 
son, however, by the Piedmontese volunteers, two years since, 
during the short spasmodic attempt of the Italians to recover 
their independence, but it was very shortly after re-taken by 
the Austrian forces, who invested it, and very soon starved 
the republican garrison into submission. The drive along the 
margin of the lake from Peschiera to the village of Desen- 
zano, where we put up for the night, was very pleasant, the 
road running for several miles immediately upon the water's 
edge. We had a line salmon trout, with which the lake 
abounds, for supper. There is a small steamer upon this 
lake, which plies along its shores for the convenience of the 
residents upon it, and of such travellers as may occasionally 
be disposed to avail themselves of it in their excursions, but it 
is not available for any of the general thoroughfares. The 
only heavy job in the construction of the rail road to Milan is 
in the vicinity of Desenzano, w T here you leave that village and 
the lake. It is a pretty lofty ridge of land, through which 
much tunnelling and deep cutting will be recprired ; but we 
observed large bodies of laborers employed upon it, — with this 
exception, the entire distance to Milan is one continued level 
plain, intersected, in all directions, by small canals, which 
carry the water along the sides of the road and through the 
fields, affording a most abundant supply for irrigating the 
lands. A number of rice fields are cultivated in this waj , but 
those which we passed were, generally, quite limited in extent. 
The principal products cultivated here are wheat and Indian 
corn, and the former being generally harvested, the ground is 
being ploughed up for a second crop. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 101 

In our day's journey to Milan, we passed through the fine 
flourishing city of Brescia, — everything about it wearing the 
appearance of activity and thrift. It was, however, in former 
times, much larger, and was considered as second only to 
Milan in importance. At present it has a population of about 
thirty-five thousand inhabitants, who bore, in ancient times, 
an inveterate hatred of the French, and they would seem not 
to be entirely free from it now. This feeling was originally 
implanted within the breasts of the people by the cruelties 
perpetrated upon them in the year 1512, when the city was 
taken by storm by the French army under Gaston de Foix, 
who has been characterized as the most ferocious chieftain 
who ever commanded an army. On this occasion, the city 
was given up to rapine, pillage, and slaughter, for seven days, 
during which the French boasted that forty-six thousand of 
the inhabitants perished. There was, however, in this black 
catalogue of crime, one strikingly beautiful exception, as ex- 
hibited in the conduct of one of the French officers of distinc- 
tion — this was the Chevalier Bayard — "sans peur et sans 
reproche" Of the conduct of this celebrated officer on this 
occasion, a most romantic account is given. He being, as he 
supposed, mortally wounded in the assault, was laid upon a 
door taken from its hinges by his soldiers, and carried into 
the most respectable house, which chanced to be that of one 
of the highest and wealthiest families. The master was ab- 
sent, but his wife and two fair daughters remained upon the 
premises. The latter, on the entrance of the soldiers, fled, 
and hid themselves in a hay loft. The wife naturally expect- 
ed that herself and daughters must share the fate of all 
around them, but her fears were immediately allayed by the 
Chevalier, who assured her that as he was known to be in the 
house, none would dare to molest her. He remained here 
until he had so far recovered from his wound as to be able to 



102 A SUMMER'S TOUR IX EUROPE. 

rejoin the army, during all which time the mother and 
daughters did everything in their power to alleviate his suf- 
ferings ; and when he was about to depart, the lady brought 
and presented to him, on her knees, a casket containing two 
thousand five hundred ducats, which she begged him to ac- 
cept as a small ransom for her house and valuables, all of 
which she still considered to be his lawful prize. Bayard, it 
is stated, raised her up, and seating her by his side, inquired 
the sum contained in the casket, assuring her at the same 
time that if she were to present him with one hundred thou- 
sand pounds, they would not gratify him so much as the good 
cheer and kind attentions which he had experienced under her 
roof; but he reluctantly accepted the sum on her pressing it 
upon him, and then requested permission to bid adieu to her 
daughters, who had done so much to solace him under his 
sufferings, with their sweet music and delicate attentions. He 
thanked them with deep gratitude for all their kindness, and 
then placed within each of their aprons, whether they would 
or not, one thousand ducats, to be added to their respective 
marriage portions ; and turning to the mother, he said that 
he would retain the remaining five hundred to his own use, 
and requested, as a favor, that she would undertake to dispose 
of it for him among the poor nuns, who had been pillaged by 
the ruthless soldiery, and then gratefully took his leave. 

In our two days' journey through Lombardy, we repeatedly 
met upon the road with carts, having upon them high loads 
of long baskets, nearly of the size of Sea Island Cotton bales, 
which, upon inquiry, we found were filled with cocoons of the 
silk worm, which are thus transmitted to market for sale. 

Much has been, and much more might be written, about 
this handsome city of Milan, — its broad, clean, well-paved 
streets, its comfortable private dwellings, its excellent hotels, 
its numerous imposing public edifices, and its beautiful walks 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



103 



and drives, which surround the entire city. But the most in- 
teresting object which it contains, is the splendid marble 
Cathedral, or Duomo, which is the admiration of all travel- 
lers, and which, in the opinion of many persons, surpasses in 
interest even the Basilica of St. Peter itself. The view from 
the top of the spire of this lofty edifice is amongst the most 
imposing of any in the world. The widely extended plains of 
Lombardy, studded with cities and villages, lay spread out 
before you, as far as the eye can reach, intersected in all di- 
rections by the two capacious canals, which, flowing from the 
lakes of Como and Maggiore, pass through the city, and uni- 
ting immediately below it, spread out again over the plains, 
fertilizing the beautifully diversified fields. Of these canals, 
we were told by our guide that we might enter a boat in 
either of the above-named lakes, pass down through the city, 
and over the plains, into the river Po, and proceed down that 
to the Adriatic sea, and thence to any part of the world, — 
even to our own country, America, without once placing our 
feet upon land. But to me the objects of most interest to be 
seen from the Duomo, are the snow-covered Alps, with the 
bright summer's sun reflecting upon them in all their gran- 
deur* presenting the appearance of white fleecy clouds. From 
this point the lofty peaks of the St. Bernard, the Simplon, the 
Splugen, &c.,may be seen, and even the more lofty and more 
distant Mont Blanc is plainly visible on a clear day.^ The 
elevated position from which these various objects are viewed, 
is reached by an ascent of five hundred and fifty-four steps 
from the ground. 

In Milan we find existing a very strong feeling of hatred 
toward the Austrians, which has been greatly increased, it 
appears, since the last effort at emancipation. The conse- 
quence is that a large portion of the more wealthy citizens 
are either forced or voluntary exiles from the city. The pub- 



104 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

lie drive upon the elevated boulevards, which surround the 
city, and which formerly swarmed with elegant equipages, is 
now nearly deserted, very few making their appearance there, 
even of those still remaining in the city ; whilst others have 
retired to distant places, disgusted with the Austrian rule. 
Others, again, who had taken part against the oppressors, had 
given much offence to the lower orders, by desiring to esta- 
blish a kingly dynasty over Italy, in the event of their being 
able to expel the Austrians, and are in consequence charged 
with having caused the failure of the movement, by distract- 
ing the friends of republicanism ; these are afraid to show 
themselves in public, lest they should be assassinated by the 
populace. In many instances, the splendid dwellings of the 
absentees have been converted into barracks for the Austrian 
soldiers. 

As I am on the point of departure from Italy, where the 
weather is getting rather uncomfortably warm, if you hear 
from me again, it will be from the mountains of Switzerland, 
whither I propose now to direct my steps. 

A Traveller, 



LETTER XVI. 



- ZURICH, Switzerland, July 16. 
The incidents which have been crowded into the short 
space of four days' travel between Milan and this city, and 
the various pleasing scenes through which we have passed, 
upon quiet and beautiful lakes, and over wild and majestic 
mountain passes, have been so varied and stirring, that I 
cannot refrain from attempting a feeble description of them. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 105 

On the afternoon of the clay on which my letter from 
Milan was dated, our party left that city by railroad for 
Como. The cars took us within a quarter of an hour's ride 
of that city, and we found ourselves quietly located in its 
principal hotel, upon the margin of the lake, at sunset, and 
the nearly full moon was already up and ready to supply its 
place as it sank behind the adjacent mountain tops. Who 
has not read of the unsurpassing beauties of the Lake of 
Como, when the moonbeams are playing upon its placid 
waters, covered, as they frequently are, with fairy-like skiffs, 
filled with young and joyous beings ? As we were to leave 
at an early hour in the morning, in the nice little steamer the 
Veloce, which lay under our windows, we did not feel dis- 
posed to "put out" in one of these little barques, and after 
surveying the scene for a time retired to rest. 

At the appointed hour in the morning we were on board, 
with a goodly number of voyagers like ourselves, all looking 
forward with interest to the passage up the lake ; and the 
expectations of those must be very extravagant indeed, who 
are not satisfied with the beauty and variety of the scenes 
presented to their view in the voyage over this exceedingly 
interesting little inland sea, the shores of which are studded 
at every turn with the most charmingly situated villas and 
country seats, of every form and shape which taste or fancy 
could devise. Of the number, one which we passed very 
soon after leaving the town, was once the residence of Queen 
Caroline — the unfortunate and repudiated wife of George 
the Fourth ; and it was here that she was alleged to have 
committed the crimes with wdiich he charged her, and for 
which he sought to be divorced. Tt would be useless to 
attempt a description of these numerous villas, or to name 
their occupants. Many of them are the property of the 
Milanese nobility and gentry, who find a summer, if not a 



106 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

permanent residence here ; and the lake has now become a 
place of great resort for the people of Milan, on parties of 
pleasure, especially on Sunday, as the railroad enables them 
to go and return on the same day, at a very trifling expense. 
Pursuing our course up the lake, frequently taking in and 
landing passengers, we reached the head of steamboat navi- 
gation at the village of Colico, about noon ; the carriages 
were landed, and we soon found ourselves winding our way 
for several miles along the shores of the upper part of the 
lake, and shortly after commenced ascending the great 
Alpine range by the passage of the Splugen. The first 
change of horses is made at Chiavenne — a thriving town of 
upwards of three thousand inhabitants, charmingly situated 
close under the mountains, which appear to impend over it. 
Here we commence the ascent in good earnest, and after 
travelling about twelve miles, reach the village of Campo 
Dolce, situated upon a small grassy plain ; and here we took 
up our quarters for the night. At an early hour on the 
morning of the 13th, we commenced the last part of the 
ascent ; and here a series of zigzags commenced, and are 
continued in a great number of short and abrupt turns, until 
an elevation is attained, from which you look down from an 
almost perpendicular height, with wonder and astonishment, 
upon the chasm below, out of which you have emerged. 
Immediately beside the spot which we had now reached, is a 
waterfall of eight hundred feet in a single leap, near to, and 
in sight of which, we had been passing in all these zigzag 
turns. Still working our way upwards, we came to a series 
of covered galleries, constructed of massy mason work, upon 
the lower sides of which are windows resembling port-holes, 
for the admission of air and liffht. These galleries are made 
to protect the road from avalanches of ice and snow, which 
descend during the winter months, which, but for these, 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IK" EUROPE. 107 

would render the road totally impassable. They are three in 
number, the longest of which is upwards of fifteen hundred 
feet in length. There are no others so long upon any of the 
Alpine high roads. After a still farther ascent amidst 
masses of snow which line the road, and where all vege- 
tation, except grass and some hardy wild flowers, has disap- 
peared, we reach the Austrian Custom House and Passport 
Office, and in a few miles farther attain the summit of the 
Splugen Pass — an elevation of six thousand eight hundred 
and fourteen feet above the sea. Along this narrow ridge 
runs the boundary line between Lombardy and Switzerland. 
If the ascent on the Italian side was calculated to fill us 
with surprise and astonishment, the descent towards Splugen 
was still more so. In a distance of less than five miles to 
that village, we descended, partly by sixteen of these zigzags, 
upwards of eighteen hundred feet. But that wdiich con- 
stitutes the greatest and most thrilling interest in this route 
over the Alps, and which constitutes its most striking fea- 
tures, is the Via Mata, the most sublime and tremendous 
defile in Switzerland. Having arrived at the village of 
Splugen, where w r e first cross the head waters of the river 
Rhine, and the mountains immediately above, in which this 
river takes its rise and assumes its name, we enter upon this 
wonderful defile or gorge, where the mountain of solid rock 
appears to have been cleft to the centre by some great con- 
vulsion of nature. The precipices which rise almost perpen- 
dicularly upon each side are, in some instances, sixteen 
hundred feet in height, and in many places not more than 
ten yards apart. The Rhine, compressed within this narrow 
rocky bed, is barely audible as it rushes through the depth 
far below the road. On entering the mouth of this wonder- 
ful defile, the sudden transition from the glare of sunshine to 
the gloom of a chasm, so narrow that it leaves but a strip of 



108 

sky visible overhead, is exceedingly striking. The whole of 
the carriage way along this glen has been obtained by blast- 
ing a notch, as it were, in the side of the mountain of rock. 
At one point, about half way down this Via Mata, the chasm 
is crossed by a massy stone bridge of a single arch, four 
hundred feet from the river which runs below it ; and on 
looking down from the bridge, you can hardly perceive the 
water of the river ; indeed, for a space of some yards, the 
two clefts of rock so nearly lap each other, that stones and 
fragments of wood which have fallen from above have lodged 
there, and completely covered the narrow intervening space. 
The road is three times crossed by bridges in its passage 
through this astonishing pass ; and when the traveller finally 
passes out of it, he instinctively looks back with wonder and 
astonishment that a carriage road should ever have been 
constructed through it. After leaving the pass, the road 
continues close along the banks of the river until it reaches 
Reicheneau — a group of houses at the junction of the two 
streams, called the Hinter Rhein and the Vorder Rhein. 
These two rivers uniting at this point, are crossed by a 
Avooden bridge of a single arch, constructed upon much the 
same principle as bridges of a like span are in Carolina. We 
felt an interest in this little village, from the fact that it is the 
place where Louis Philippe, since king of the French, took 
refuge when he tied from Paris during the horrors of the 
first revolution. The circumstance is thus related : " In 
1*793, a young man calling himself Chabot, arrived here on 
foot, with a stick in his hand, and a bundle on his back. He 
presented a letter of introduction to M. Jost, the head master 
of a school which had been established at this place, in con- 
sequence of which he was appointed teacher, and for eight 
months gave lessons in French, Mathematics, and History. 
This forlorn stranger was no other than Louis Philippe, Duke 



109 



de Cnartres, who had been forced to seek concealment here, 
in the performance of the humble duties of a schoolmaster, 
and in that capacity made himself equally beloved by master 
and pupils. His secret was only known to M. Jost. During 
his residence here, he must have heard the news of his 
father's death on the scaffold, and his mother's transportation 
to Madagascar." 

Keeping on our course along the Rhine, we arrived in 
good time at Ragatz — a watering place of much celebrity, in 
the immediate vicinity of the Baths of Pfeffer. The situ- 
ation of these baths is in a place not less wonderful than the 
chasm which has just been described (the Via Mata), through 
which the Rhine makes its almost subterranean passage. 
They are situated a little way up the vale of the Tamina, a 
small river which enters the Rhine at the village of Ragatz, 
which situation is unquestionably one of the most extraor- 
dinary spots in Switzerland. No one visiting this part of the 
country should omit seeing these Hot Baths. They are said 
to have been first discovered by a traveller, who, having 
entered the wonderful cleft in the mass of rock in which they 
are situated, in search of game, observed the column of 
vapor arising from them. The sides of the ravine in which 
they are situated contract in an extraordinary manner, so as 
to approach within a few yards of each other ; advancing a 
little farther, they even close over and cover up the river, 
which is seen issuing out of a deep chasm — a narrow foot 
bridge of planks is carried along up this chasm for some two 
thousand yards, to the Hot Springs. A few yards from the 
entrance, the passage is darkened by the overhanging rocks. 
The sudden chill of the atmosphere never visited by the 
sun's rays — the rushing and roaring of the torrent eighty or 
ninety feet below — the threatening appearance of rocks 
above, and the tremfcing of the planks on which you are 



110 

suspended, have a grand and striking effect ; and yet the 
Spring may be visited without the least danger. The build- 
ings for the accommodation of patients, are situated a little 
below the entrance to this chasm ; they are large and com 
modious, and especial attention has been paid to the accommo- 
dation of all classes of patients, three rows of bathing houses 
being erected, all filled from the same source, but of different 
construction. Those for the poorest class are equally con- 
venient as the others, but they are more plainly finished and 
furnished, and a mere nominal charge is made for their use. 
The water is brought clown to them from the dark recess in 
which the spring is situated, by hollow logs perforated for the 
purpose ; and in the same way the hot water is conveyed for 
nearly a mile and a half, through similar logs, to the Ragatz 
House, in the village, where warm baths can be had at 
all times by the inmates of the hotel, which is an excellent 
establishment, embracing every desirable comfort. 

The Canton of Grisons, in which these baths are situated, 
was united with the Swiss Confederacy in 1803, and is 
represented by a member in the Diet. The Grisons them- 
selves are divided into three Leagues, each possessing its own 
constitution, which differ entirely from one another. The 
language, too, spoken by the people, is various. In religion 
they are about equally divided between Catholics and Pro- 
testants. A general appearance of industry and comfort pre- 
vails throughout the Canton, and cleanliness and neatness 
are predominant traits in the character of the people. 

We remained at Ragatz until the morning of the loth, 
when we left for this city. A pleasant drive of about twelve 
miles brought us to the head of the little Lake of Wallen- 
stadt, about twelve miles in length, and two or three miles in 
breadth ; here the carriages were placed in a towboat to 
accompany the small steamboat on which we were to em- 



Ill 



bark, as they were to be conveyed in her through a canal 
which connects this lake with the Lake of Zurich. Arrived 
at the head of this last-named lake, they were transferred to 
the steamer Republikaner — a very handsome and commo- 
dious iron boat, which runs up and down the Lake daily, and 
we arrived here about five o'clock in the evening, having been 
afforded a delightful opportunity of viewing its beautiful 
borders, teeming with population, and embellished and en- 
livened at every step by the work of man. Its character, 
although not partaking of the grandeur of some of the other 
lakes, is, nevertheless, smiling and cheerful. Its gentle slopes 
are clad with vineyards and cultivated fields from the hill- 
tops down to the water's edge, and carpeted with verdant 
pastures, or loaded with luxuriant crops of grain. The hills, 
from one extremity of the lake to the other, are dotted with 
human habitations, handsome houses, comfortable villas, cot- 
tages and farm-houses ; and there are numerous large facto- 
ries and mills upon its borders. The lake is about twenty- 
six miles in length, from Zurich to Schmerikon, but not more 
than three miles in width. 

Zurich itself is indeed a neat and beautiful little city. The 
river Lamat, which flows through it from the lake, is a wide, 
clear, and rapid stream, dividing the city into nearly equal 
parts. Everything has the appearance of neatness and even 
elegance about it — handsome shops, well supplied with every- 
thing calculated to contribute to the comfort and well-being 
of its industrious, hospitable, and polite people. I recognize 
amongst the names several which are familiar to us at home. 
Of this number is that of the talented ahd highly-respected 
clergyman of the German Lutheran Church in Charleston. 

Zurich is historically remarkable as the place where the 
Reformation first commenced in Switzerland. It is the native 
place of Zuingle and Hammerlin, the reformers ; of Gessner, 



112 



the poet, and Gessner, the naturalist ; of Lavater, and of 
Pestalozzi, the celebrated teacher. 

The principal manufactories are those of silk, the weaving 
of which occupies many thousands in the town and along the 
shores of the Lake. There are also one or two large cotton 
factories. Yours, &c, 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XVII. 



BEKIsE, (Switz.) July 22. 
I last addressed you from the pleasant and cheerful city of 
Zurich, which we left on the 17th instant for Lucerne, stop- 
ping on our way to dine at the little old-fashioned town of 
Zug, situated upon the lake of that name. Before reaching 
it, however, we passed the village of Koppel, which has ob- 
tained a w r oeful celebrity in Swiss history, as the place where 
the confederates, embittered against each other by religious 
discord, dyed their hands in the blood of one another, and 
where Zuingle, the reformer, fell in the midst of his flock, 
on the 11th of October, 1531. Many of the inhabitants of 
Zurich perished on that day of civil broil, overpowered by the 
numbers of their opponents, the men of the four cantons. 
Zuingle, who, in accordance with the custom of the time, 
attended his flock to the field of battle, to afford them spiritu- 
al consolation, was struck down and perished in the fight. A 
massive granite monument has been reared by the road side, 
to commemorate the spot where he fell, having an inscription 
upon bronze tablets, on either side of it, in German and Latin, 
the substance of which is, that he fell in the cause of truth 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 113 

and of his country. The town of Zug is quite an unique old 
place, whose inhabitants seem to adhere most pertinaciously 
to the primitive customs and habits of their ancestors, and, 
judging from appearances, very little change can have taken 
place in these respects for centuries. The road to Lucerne 
skirts along the Lake of Zug for some miles, and a very plea- 
sant drive of three or four hours brought us to that place, 
about five o'clock in the afternoon. 

The city is, like Zurich, prettily located at the foot of the 
lake which bears its name, and although not so handsome or 
well built as the latter, has yet a number of very fine modern 
buildings, and amongst the number two elegant and spacious 
hotels, for the accommodation of the travelling public. The 
town is surrounded on the land side by an ancient wall, along 
which, at stated distances, are lofty watch-towers, which served 
the purposes of defence in former times, when the cross-bow 
and battle-axe were the implements used in warfare. They 
would prove but a sorry defence against the artillery of mo- 
dern times. One of the first objects of attention to the 
stranger, on visiting Lucerne, is the colossal statue of the 
wounded and dying Lion, designed by Thorwaldseu, and exe- 
cuted by Ahorn, a native artist. It is just without one of the 
gates of the cit} T , in a secluded little dell, under the brow of an 
overhanging mountain, and is carved out of the red stone 
rock of which the mountain is composed. It was executed 
at the expense of the citizens of the canton, as a monument to 
the memory of the Swiss Guard, who fell while defending the 
family of Louis XVI., at the palaces of Versailles and the 
Tuilleries, in the bloocty massacres of the French Revolution. 
It represents a lion of colossal size, wounded to death, with a 
spear sticking in his side, yet endeavoring in his last gasp to 
protect from injury a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the 
Bourbons, upon which one paw is firmly fixed, while the other 
10 



114 



lias fallen listlessly by his side. The figure is twenty-eight 
feet long, and eighteen feet high. Beneath it are placed the 
names of the officers who fell in defending the royal family of 
France. At the foot of the mass of rock on which the lion is 
carved, is a miniature lake, the water of which is supplied 
from a little stream which falls down from the top of the 
rock. Near to it is a small religious chapel, erected with the 
same pious object, for which the Duchess d'Angouleme, the 
daughter of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, worked with 
her own hands a rich altar-cloth, which is preserved with 
pious care by the custode, who has charge of the entire esta- 
blishment. He is a man of seventy-five years of age, is con- 
stantly dressed in the uniform worn by the Swiss Guard at 
that period, and is the son of one of the officers who fell on 
that memorable occasion. 

Lucerne is not a place of much mercantile trade or manu- 
factures, but their absence is more than compensated by the 
beautiful scenery with which it is surrounded, situated between 
the lofty mountains of the Righi and Pilatus, with the roman- 
tic lake spread out in its front, which is generally considered 
the most striking one in Switzerland. It presents, altogether, 
a most pleasing scene to the traveller. But its greatest inter- 
est consists in an excursion upon the lake itself, and it is one 
which no traveller should fail to enjoy. A steamboat leaves 
daily for the upper end of the lake, and passengers who con- 
template ascending the Righi, are landed at Weggis ; but 
most unfortunately for those who were with us on the occa- 
sion of our excursion, the weather was unfavorable, the moun- 
tain's top being enveloped in clouds, entirety defeating the 
object for which it is usually ascended, and which in good 
weather affords a most extensive and commanding view of all 
the neighboring lakes and mountains. Passing the foot of 
the Righi, we approach the more romantic and imposing parts 



115 



of the lake, amidst the wild and lofty pinnacles of the moun- 
tains, presenting in many places a perpendicular wall of rock 
descending down into the lake, where the water is eight hun- 
dred feet deep. 

It was here that the stirring scenes and daring deeds in the 
life of William Tell, are described as having taken place ; and a 
neat little chapel, dedicated to his memory, has been erected 
at the water's edge, upon the very spot where he is supposed 
to have jumped on shore from the boat in which the tyrant, 
Gessler, was conveying him to prison, but which, having been 
overtaken by a storm, was confided to the direction of Tell, 
who was unbound for the purpose, and who, watching a favo- 
rable moment, ran her on shore, and, leaping from the boat, 
made his escape — where he afterwards lay in wait for, and 
soon had an opportunity to shoot, his and his country's op- 
pressor. Immediately opposite to the chapel, upon a small 
grass plat, on the other side of the lake, is the place where 
the three confederates met in secret at midnight, when they 
pledged themselves and their countrymen not to rest until 
the Austrians should be driven from their mountains, and 
their country restored to freedom. The boat proceeds up to 
Fluelen, at the upper end of the lake, which is but two miles 
from Altorf, the little town in which Tell split the apple, with 
his arrow, upon the head of his child. We remained at Flue- 
len but a short time, when the mail-post, with a mail from 
Milan, which is brought over the St. Gothard Pass, arrived, 
and we were informed by the conductor that he had encoun- 
tered a violent snow storm whilst crossing the mountain 
during the night. Eeturning to Lucerne, we reached home 
about sunset, much pleased with our excursion, notwithstand- 
ing the repeated showers during the day — which, although 
they obscured at times the lofty mountain peaks from our 
view, rendered them still more interesting at other moments, 



116 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

when the clouds breaking away revealed them in all their 
imposing grandeur to us. 

Leaving Lucerne on the morning of the 19th, we slept at 
Langnau, situated in an extensive, fertile, and highly cultiva- 
ted valley, and proceeded the following morning to Thun, a 
small but beautifully situated town at the foot of the lake of 
that name. In the afternoon, we left the excellent hotel, the 
Bellevue, where we had dined, and embarked on board a nice 
little steamer for Interlaken, situated a few miles from the 
upper end of the lake, which is about ten miles in length, the 
banks occupied with neat villas and well cultivated gardens. 
Carriages are found in waiting at the landing to take the passen- 
gers four or five miles to Interlaken, which is most advantage- 
ously located at the foot of another small lake, the Brienz, a 
rapid stream connecting the two lakes. There is a number of 
large and commodious hotels and pensions, or boarding 
houses, at Interlaken, which are the resort of great numbers 
of visitors during the summer months, particularly of English 
and Germans, who find here a most cool and comfortable re- 
treat, in a delightfully romantic and salubrious valley, at the 
very foot of the Oberland mountains; and it is from this 
point that the excursions over these mountain ranges are 
generally commenced, where excellent guides and everything 
necessary can be obtained. A short excursion as far as Grin- 
denwald, where the Glaciers are first met with, can be per- 
formed in nine hours, and this is generally undertaken by 
most visitors, it not being a very difficult task even for ladies. 
Having accomplished this, and passed a very pleasant night 
at Interlaken, we returned the next forenoon to Thun, and, in 
the afternoon, resumed our carriages and drove to this noble 
old city ot Berne, a distance of about eighteen miles, where 
we arrived about six o'clock, in time to have a most interest- 
ing sight, at sunset, of the Bernese range of the Alps, the 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 11 7 

most widely extended view which w T e have anywhere met 
with in the course of our journey through these lofty moun- 
tain regions. For, although they are here seen at a distance of 
some thirty or forty miles, yet such is their great elevation 
that they seem to the eye to be at a comparatively trifling 
distance only from where we stood. 

The environs of the city are studded with numerous hand- 
some villas, the residences of the wealthy and aristocratic 
citizens of the town, and of foreign diplomatists, most of 
whom make this city the place of their sojourn. The upper 
town stands upon a rocky eminence which overlooks the val- 
ley of the river, whilst what may be termed the lower town 
lies immediately upon the bank of the stream, the situation of 
the two divisions resembling very much that of the upper 
and lower towns of Quebec. Looking down from the prome- 
nade of the upper town, the tops of the chimneys of the 
houses in the lower are some forty or fifty feet below you. It 
is a market day here this morning, and most of the streets 
are thronged with people from the country with most abun- 
dant supplies of everything which the rich and highly im- 
proved land, in this thrifty and industrious community, can 
produce. One of the objects which travellers are told they 
must not miss seeing, in Berne, is the bears, who are held in 
high estimation by the Bernese — a bear rampant adorning 
the arms of the Canton. We accordingly repaired to the 
dens in which they are confined, which is just without the 
limits of the town, but were sadly disappointed to find only 
two grizzly cubs, not more than half grown, making but a 
poor show where we expected to see, at least, a dozen well- 
fed representatives of the tribe. 

To-morrow we proceed by Fribourg, Vevay, and Lausanno, 
to Geneva, where you may again hear from 

Yours, &c, A Traveller. 



118 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



LETTER XVIII. 



GENEVA, July 27. 
Having been now for some days pleasantly located in this 
city, I propose to resume my journal where I left it in my 
last, which was at Berne, I believe, on the 22d instant. Our 
first stage was to Fribourg, and arriving opposite to that 
place, we passed into the city over that wonderful piece of 
human skill and ingenuity, the suspension bridge, which con- 
nects it with the high ridge opposite. "No one, I think, can 
look upon that structure, and then pass over it, suspended as 
it were in the air, without a feeling of insecurity, so lofty and 
frail does it seem. But experience has proved that it is ca- 
pable of sustaining almost any number of loaded wagons 
which could be placed upon it. It is, as you may recollect, 
nearly one thousand feet in length, nearly double that of the 
Menai Bridge in Wales, and two hundred feet from the river 
over which it passes. It is supported by four cables of iron 
wire, each containing upwards of one thousand wires, which 
extending all the way across, are carried at each end over- 
high arches of solid masonry, and thence into the ground, 
where they are attached in the most secure manner to enor- 
mous blocks of stone. Since this bridge was completed, 
which was in 1834, another has been constructed over a deep 
ravine, not far from the first bridge, which, although of less 
length, is much more lofty, being upwards of three hundred 
feet from the bottom of the ravine over which it passes ; and 
this latter structure differs from the other, inasmuch that the 
chains which support it are fastened on the one side into the 
solid rock, at a very considerable elevation above the bridge, 
whilst at the other end of the bridge they are fastened to 
rocks on a level with, or at a very slight elevation above it, 



119 

which gives to it the appearance of half a bridge only, as 
compared with its elder neighbor. This plan was adopted for 
economy's sake, thereby avoiding the heavy expense of erect- 
ing the massive stone arches, over which the chains are ex- 
tended at the bridge first erected. The evening of our arrival 
at Fribourg, we repaired to the somewhat celebrated Cathe- 
dral of St. Nicholas, to hear a performance upon the wonder- 
ful organ in that church. There were not less than one hun- 
dred strangers present to hear it, and all were pleased and 
delighted. The perfect imitation of the sweetest tones of the 
human voice, which are produced upon this perfect instru- 
ment, never fails to excite the wonder and admiration of every 
one who is privileged to hear it. Whilst waiting for the 
church doors to be opened, our attention was drawn to a very 
curious bas relief, representing the Last Judgment, which 
surmounts the portal of the principal entrance. In the centre 
stands St. Nicholas, and above him is seated the Saviour ; on 
the left hand, an angel is weighing mankind in a high pair of 
scales, not singly, but by lots, and a couple of imps are malici- 
ously endeavoring to pull down one scale, and make the other 
kick the beam ; — below r is St. Peter ushering the good into 
paradise. On the right hand is the reverse of this picture. A 
devil, with a pig's head upon his shoulders, is dragging after 
him, by a chain, a crowd of the wicked, and carries a basket 
upon his back, also filled with figures, apparently about to 
precipitate them into a vast cauldron suspended over a fire, 
which several other imps are stirring. In the corner is hell, 
represented by the jaws of a monster filled up to the teeth 
with evil doers, and above is Satan seated on his throne. 

Our journey from Fribourg to Vevay, thirty-six miles, on ■ 
the 23d, lay through a well settled and well cultivated region, 
abounding in orchards of apple and pear trees, resembling 
very much in appearance many parts of the New-England 



120 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

States. We stopped to dine at Bulle, a small thriving town 
of some fifteen hundred inhabitants, the chief depot for the 
Gravers cheese, which is made in the neighboring valleys. 
About five miles before reaching Koag, we passed through 
the picturesque village of Chatel St. Denis, and thence de- 
scended by an excellent road, recently constructed, by an easy 
descent in zigzags, down a steep hill, towards Lake Lernan, at 
the foot of which we come to the town of Vevay. In all this 
descent we were struck by the great extent and beauty of the 
vineyards, which cover the entire slopes of the extensive range 
of hills on the north side of the lake, to this place. An extent 
of production for the making of wine, which has been increas- 
ed from time to time, by the exertions of a society, whose 
object is to promote the cultivation of the vine, by rewarding 
the most skilful and industrious of the vine-dressers with 
medals and prizes, thereby stimulating them to extra exertions 
in their vocation. 

The Hotel of the Three Crowns, at which we stopped, is 
considered to be one of the best, if not the very best, in Switz- 
erland ; and this may be considered high praise, where there 
are so many excellent ones as are to be found in all the prin- 
cipal cities of the cantons. It is most advantageously located 
upon the very margin of the lake, a beautiful shady walk 
only intervening between the hotel and the water ; and what 
adds an additional interest to the establishment, is the fact, 
that it stands upon the spot where was the house of Ludlow, 
one of the so-called Regicide Judges, who condemned Charles I. 
to the block, and who fled from England on the accession of 
Charles II., which house was recently taken down to make 
-room for the present handsome and spacious edifice. 

Ludlow died here, as did also one of his colleagues, Brough- 
ton, and their remains now rest in a churchyard near the 
town. Three of these regicides, you may remember, escaped 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 121 

to New -England — two were buried at New-Haven and one in 
Massachusetts. There are many other objects of interest in 
and about Vevay, and the writings of Rousseau have contribu- 
ted not a little to its celebrity. 

Leaving Vevay, the road is beautifully located by the side 
of the lake the entire distance to this city. We rested for a 
short time at Lausanne, which is situated upon an elevated 
plateau, commanding a very extended view up and down the 
lake, and of the lofty and craggy mountains of Savoy on the 
opposite shore. This city has been, from time to time, the 
favorite residence of English families. Gibbon, the historian, 
resided here for a very considerable time, and it was here that 
he wrote nis "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," the 
first idea of which was suggested to his mind, as we are told, 
whilst at the Church, of Bambino Santissimo, on the Capito- 
line Hill at Rome, looking down upon the Forum and the 
ruins which lay around it. He thus describes the closing 
scene of this great work : "It w r as on the day, or rather the 
night, of the 27th of June, 1787, between the hours of eleveii 
and twelve, that I wrote the .last line of the last page in a 
summer-house in my garden. After laying down my pen, I 
took several turns in a berceau, or covered walk of acacias, 
which commands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the 
mountains. The air was temperate, the sky was serene, the 
silver orb of the moon was reflected from the waves, and all 
nature was silent." The house in which Gibbon resided, 
having been much extended, is now the " Hotel Gibbon," one 
of the largest and best public houses in Switzerland, and the 
fact of its having been once the place of his residence, natu- 
rally inclines most travellers to resort to it, in preference to 
any other, John P. Kemble, the great tragedian, is buried 
in the Cemetery of Pierre de Plain, about two miles from the 
town. Some eight miles before reaching this city, we passed 
11 



122 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

through the village of Coppet, where are entombed the re- 
mains of the celebrated Neekar, and his no less celebrated 
daughter, Madame de Stael. Whilst the postillions were 
changing horses, we walked to the chateau, now the property 
of the widow of the late Baron de Stael, the only survivor of 
the family. An aged female domestic, who met us at the 
gate, gave us to understand that the house was shut up, but 
that we could walk around the premises. She pointed out 
the little chapel, embowered in a grove of funereal trees, sur- 
rounded by a high wall, in which were interred the remains 
of the deceased members of the family. She told us, with 
tears in her eyes, tbat she had seen buried there M. and Ma- 
dame Neekar, and their daughter ; and added, that as she was 
now eighty-five years old, she must very soon follow them. 
Some way north of the road we were passing, and about four 
miles from the city, is the village of Ferney, for nearly 
twenty years the residence of Voltaire, which was formerly 
visited by most frequenters of Geneva, but his villa having 
some few years since passed into the possession of a man who 
has removed every vestige of that celebrated writer from the 
rooms which he once occupied, and which had previously been 
preserved with much care, thereby divesting the place of all 
the attractions which had previously induced the curious 
traveller to resort to it, it has ceased to be regarded as an 
object of much interest. 

Geneva has been either the birthplace or the residence of 
many most distinguished men, in all former periods of its his- 
tory. It was here that the great reformer Calvin held such 
despotic sway for a series of years, both in Church and State ; 
and it was for a time the residence of that celebrated preacher, 
John Knox, during his exile from his own country. Amongst 
its native sons, whose names have acquired a European cele- 
brity, are those of Rousseau, of Neekar, the minister of Louis 



128 

XVL, of Saussure, who first ascended Mont Blanc, of Sismondi, 
the historian, and many others of similar note — and Geneva 
is still regarded, from the number of learned men who reside 
in or near it, as the intellectual metropolis of Switzerland. 

The manufacture from which it derives its chief commercial 
prosperity, is confined almost exclusively to the making of 
watches and jewellery. These employ a great number of 
workmen, there being, it is stated, upwards of fifty watchma- 
ker's and seventy jeweller's shops kept in constant employ- 
ment. More than one hundred thousand watches are manu- 
factured here annually. 

One of the principal things which brings travellers to Ge- 
neva, is its vicinity to Chamouni and Mont Blanc, which 
every traveller in Italy is naturally anxious to visit. This, 
with its charming environs and beautiful lake scenery, ren- 
ders it a place of great resort. Some considerable improve- 
ments, too, have been made within the last few years, particu- 
larly on the north side of the river, in the -vicinity of the 
Hotel des Bergues, where the borders of the river have been 
straightened and guarded by a handsome granite wall, ex* 
tending some way up the lake, and the large intermediate 
space being filled in, will afford a fine site for additional pub- 
lic or private buildings — -an English Church is about to be 
erected upon a part of it. 

Our party is to start upon their excursion to Chamouni and 
Mont Blanc to-morrow morning; but as I do not suppose 
that any change has taken place in those renowned localities 
since I addressed a letter to your journal from that place just 
thirteen years since, in which I gave you an account of the 
ascent of Mdle. Dangeville, a French lady, who went up to 
the top of Mont Blanc, at that time, and who was entertain- 
ing her friends with a supper, on their return, when we reach- 
ed the hotel at the village of Chamouni, I shall not detain 



124 A summer's tour In EtiRorE* 

this letter in the expectation of being able to add anything to 
it of interest from the excursion — and it is not likely that I 
shall write you again from this region, as we shall probably 
leave immediately on our return for the banks of the Rhine 
and Germany. Adieu for the present. 

A Traveller* 



LETTER XIX. 



BASLE (SWrrz.), August 4. 
The excursion to Chamouni and the Mere de Glace, which 
I spoke of in my last, dated at Geneva, as in contemplation, 
was necessarily deferred for a day or two, in consequence of 
the inclemency of the weather, but we finally set out on the 
morning of the 28th ult. Our first stage was in carriages as 
far as San Mftrtin, about thirty-five miles ; but just before 
reaching that town, we found a very serious obstruction in 
the road, occasioned by an avalanche of rocks and mud which 
had swept down from the adjoining mountain the day pre* 
vious, covering a space of some two or three hundred yards 
to the depth of several feet ; and although a large number 
of men were employed in removing the deposit, it was not 
without much difficulty that our carriages could be passed 
over it. At San Martin passengers are transferred from the 
ordinary travelling carriages, into what is called a charabanc 
— a vehicle upon low wheels, and less likely to be over- 
turned, in which they ascend the mountains into the vale of 
Chamouni. It was on the 28th, the day that the eclipse 
of the sun took place ; and the effect of it, as we were ap- 
proaching Mont Blanc, and the various hues imparted to the 
lofty snow-clad pinnacles of that and the adjacent ranges of 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 125 

mountains, lifting their frosty heads far up towards that 
great luminary in the sky, was of a truly novel and striking 
character, well calculated to excite our awe as well as our 
admiration. The eclipse was only partial in this region, 
commencing and terminating between the hours of two and 
five o'clock in the afternoon. 

The number of visitors to the vale of Chamouni is yearly 
increasing, and the enterprising proprietors of the hotels 
have greatly extended their accommodations for the comfort 
and convenience of their numerous guests. There have been 
no attempts as yet, the present season, to ascend to the sum- 
mit of Mont Blanc; but one or two parties are contemplat- 
ing it. Last year two young Englishmen undertook it, but 
only one accomplished the task — the other gave out, his 
strength failing him when he had reached within ten 
or fifteen minutes walk of the mountain's top. 

We were truly fortunate in the weather on the 28th and 
29th, both days being clear and bright, but the rain again 
set in on the 30th, and we met numerous travellers on our 
return that day, who must have been sadly disappointed in 
the object of their visit by the rain, which continued to fall 
for two days, rendering travelling not only difficult but dan- 
gerous ; and several parties at Geneva were deterred from 
undertaking the ascent in consequence. - 

Americans have frequently remarked that Geneva had to 
them much of a home-feeling, arising, no doubt, from the 
uniformly industrious and orderly appearance of its inhabi- 
tants, and from the air of comfort which pervades everything 
about it. This home-feeling was very much increased whilst 
we were there, from the number of American visitors in 
the city, amongst whom were several of our Charleston 
friends. 

The rain, which had been descending in torrents for two 



126 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

days, having ceased, we left Geneva on the afternoon of the 
first instant, in the steamboat for Lausanne — this mode of 
travel enabling us to have a better view of both sides of the 
lake than we had in passing down on one side of it in a 
carriage. Leaving Geneva at two o'clock, we reached Lau- 
sanne at half past five, taking lodgings for the night at the 
Hotel Gibbon — a very extensive establishment, erected ad- 
joining to and upon a portion of the garden attached to the 
mansion of the celebrated historian, when he resided at that 
place, and to which I alluded in my last letter. Travellers 
are now pointed to a large lime tree in the rear of the hotel, 
which was planted, as they are informed, by Gibbon himself, 
whilst occupying the premises-. 

At five o'clock the following morning we started for Neu- 
chatel, situated upon the lake of that name. Half way be- 
tween the two cities, at the southwestern end of the lake, 
is Yverdun — a town of about three thousand inhabitants. 
It is built upon the site of an ancient Roman town, bearing 
a somewhat similar name ; and a castle, built in the twelfth 
century, recently became the school-house and residence of 
Pestalozzi, who occupied it for twenty years, from 1 805 to 
1825. Although the founder of a system of education fol- 
lowed in many schools both in Europe and America, he is 
represented to have been a very bad practical school-master 
himself, and that this establishment, the head-quarters, as it 
were, of his system, turned out to be a signal failure. 

We reached Neuchatel at half-past twelve o'clock, and 
passed the afternoon and night at that place. The entire 
distance from Yverdun to Neuchatel lies along the margin of 
the lake, with the range of the Jura mountains, which sepa- 
rate France from Switzerland, on our left hand, the entire 
space stretching up from the shore of the lake to the moUn- 
tain-tops being in a high state of cultivation, covered with 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 127 

luxuriant crops of grain and hay, interspersed with most 
extensive vineyards of grape vines, loaded with fruit in its 
progress to maturity, and promising, if the season should 
prove propitious, a most abundant harvest. The roads are 
most excellent, and the entire shore of the lake, dotted with 
handsome villages, presents the most animating and cheerful 
aspect. 

The city of Neuchatel is built upon the steep slope of the 
Jura mountains, along a narrow shelf of level ground between 
the hills and the lake, formed, for the most part, of alluvial 
deposits brought down from the mountains, and partly gained 
by embankments from the water. Some of the streets laid 
out of late years, are upon ground acquired in this way. It 
has a population of about six thousand, and has a general 
air of neatness and comfort, though possessing little trade or 
activity ; it must, nevertheless, from the numerous neat white 
country houses around it, from its vine-clad hills, and the 
blue expanse of its lake, be pronounced beautiful. It has a 
most interesting museum of natural history, including very 
good collections of zoology, conchology, and geology, which 
institution owes much, we are informed, to the zeal and 
talents of Professor Agassiz — a gentleman well known to 
your readers, and a native of this city, whose interesting dis- 
coveries in the history of fossil fishes have thrown more light 
on that branch of the study than any one since Cuvier has 
done. The charitable institutions of this town are repre- 
sented to be upon a splendid scale. The establishment of 
some of these institutions was thus : A man named David 
Pury, who had quitted Neuchatel, his native town, a poor 
lad, without money and without friends, having gradually, 
by industry and a talent for business, increased his means, 
becoming, in turn, jeweller, owner of mines, banker, and, 
finally, millionaire, at Lisbon, where he died in 1*786, having 



128 a summer's tour ra europe. 

bequeathed bis whole estate, consisting of 4,000,000 of Iivres, 
to endow a hospital and poor-house, and for other purposes 
connected with the improvement of his native town. 5 
other institutions of a similar character, which reflect much 
honor upon the town, owe their existence to the benevolence 
and public spirit of some of its wealthy citizens. 

The waters of Lake Neuchatel are discharged into Lake 
Bienne. which is eight feet lower than the first-named lake, 
and ten miles in length. The road towards Basle passes 
along the border of this lake, which, although it has nothing 
of an imposing or striking character about it. is still po- 
of much quiet beauty of scenery. Rousseau resided upon 
the little island of St. Pierre, in it, where he took 
some months when exiled from Paris in 1765. This island 
is a ridge of sands rone, rising about twelve feet above the 
surface of the lake, and is crowned by a beautiful grove of 
magnificent old oaks, the shade of which, at this season of 
the year, is most refreshing. Rousseau, who spent his time 
while upon it in botanizing, in music, in climbing the trees 
with a bag tied around him to gather the fruit, or in floating 
about the lake in a small boat, stretched on his back, has 
immortalized it by his he farm-house in which he 

dwelt, now serves as an inn, and his room is preserved nearly 
in the same state in which he left it. 

The town of Biem: of the lake, is the point 

of communication with Berne and Xeuchatel. From it there 
are two differer.; j Basle — that by Soleure is 

the most direct and level, but that by the Val Moutiers 
most picturesque and beautiful. We 
had been a. : means tc be latter, and we 

found ourselves well repaid for two or three additional hours 
of tat : . diately after leaving the town 

by this route, we commenced the ascent of the ranoe i 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 129 

Jura, and soon found ourselves upon the summit of one of 
its lofty ridges, looking down on either hand into the most 
enchanting vales of well cultivated land, dotted all over with 
neat cottages, apparently realizing the description which has 
been given to us of "the Happy Valley." For many miles 
leading through the gorges and narrow defiles of this range 
of mountains, the scene is constantly shifting, at one time 
presenting the most grand and imposing spectacle of lofty 
pinnacles of rock, overhanging the road on either side, whilst 
the road itself, cut out of the solid rock in many instances, 
passes by the side of a rushing stream (the river Birs), along 
whose banks we continue for a large portion of the distance, 
.until it empties itself at last into the Rhine, near this city. 
No traveller who has the least taste for the picturesque 
should fail to take this route on his way either to Berne or 
Neuchatel. 

Basle, although a place of much resort for travellers, has 
not many objects of special attraction within it. Situated on 
either side of the Rhine, which has here become a large and 
imposing river, and at the head of steamboat navigation, it 
necessarily possesses advantages which must attract the 
attention of visitors ; and its ancient Cathedral, erected early 
in the tenth century, and Library and Museum, in the latter 
of which are to be seen autographs of Erasmus, Luther, 
Melancthon, and others of their time, are places worthy of 
the attention of visitors. I am myself reminded, on finding 
myself again in the hotel in which we are located (the Three 
Kings), of an incident which occurred here now just thirty 
years since. I was then sitting at the breakfast table, in the 
general dining saloon, when a gentleman entered it with the 
Paris Moniteur in his hand, and read aloud from it, to the 
company present, an official account of the death of Napo- 
leon, which had just reached France by express. The news, 



130 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

as you may well suppose, was of exciting interest to us all at 
the moment. The place and manner in which I had first 
heard of his death, have often since recurred to my memory. 
The late heavy rains have so much swollen the streams in 
some places on the continent, that much injury has been 
occasioned : and we learn here that some of the railroads on 
the German side of the river, have been torn up by the 
mountain torrents. We shall, therefore, take the French 
railroad to Strasbourg this afternoon, this distance being per- 
formed in about five hours. It is reported here that some 
lives were lost, and that at Baden-Baden, in particular, the 
damage has been very great. Yours, &c, 

A Traveller. 



-LETTER XX. 



BADEN-BADEN, August 8. 
We had heard, before leaving Basle, of the serious disas- 
ters occasioned by the great inundation upon the Rhine, and 
its tributary streams, but we did not witness its effects until 
we passed Strasbourg— the route by rail road between those 
two cities taking us some distance from that river. This road 
passes over a perfectly level plain— so level as not to require, 
in any part of it, scarcely any elevation or depression in the 
way of embankments or excavations. The distance, about 
ninety miles, is performed in five hours, including a great 
number of stoppages. Leaving the station, just without the 
gates of Basle, in the course of a very few minutes we reach 
the frontier of France. Here some necessary delay is occa- 
sioned by the examination of the baggage of the passengers, 
who were rather numerous on this occasion. Formerly, the 



A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 131 

French government imposed a heavy duty upon watches and 
jewelry arriving from Switzerland, but finding, from experi- 
ence, that it produced very little revenue — almost everything 
of the kind being smuggled into Paris — they have very wise- 
ly reduced the tariff to five francs upon each watch, and other 
articles in proportion ; and the consequence is, that almost 
everything is now regularly reported, and the duty paid, 
which relieves travellers from the vexatious and troublesome 
examination which they were formerly obliged to undergo, 
and they are now passed on without any unnecessary delay. 
The examination, in our case, was made by women, and they 
were not a little amused by our brass-mounted American 
trunks, with their numerous sub-divisions for different articles 
of dress, &c. The only towns of any considerable size, through 
which this road passes, are Muhlhausen and Colmar, in both 
of which manufactures are carried on to a considerable extent, 
particularly in the former, where printed silks, cotton and 
woolen fabrics, sugar from the beet-root, and various other 
articles, are made. But that which most attracted my atten- 
tion on the route, was the wide-spread fields of wheat, pre- 
senting an appearance somewhat similar to one of our western 
prairies, extending over a plain extending from the river to 
the far distant hills, every part of which appeared to be cover- 
ed with waving grain, for thirty or forty miles on our way. 
The Department of Alsace has been considered as one of the 
granaries of France, and one can scarcely conceive a more 
gratifying sight than such an immense expanse of territory 
presents to the eye, covered with such luxuriant crops of 
grain — but the long continuance of cloudy and rainy weather 
had necessarily retarded the harvest, and the straw was ob- 
served to be much discolored, although the grain may not 
have suffered to any considerable extent. The fine weather of 
the last two or three days, however, had called into requisi- 



132 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

tion, it would seem, every man, woman, and child, on the 
route ; and in some parts of it, the scene presented to view of 
hundreds employed in reaping, binding, and loading up wa- 
gons with these rich treasures of the earth, was one calculated 
to impress even the transient passer-by with feelings of grati- 
tude to the great Giver of Good to man. In all the earlier 
part of the way, we did not observe a single field of Indian 
corn, or indeed anything excepting wheat, but when within 
twenty miles of Strasbourg, this grain, with hemp, occupied a 
considerable portion of the ground, and there were, besides, 
several rather extensive fields of tobacco. 

Strasbourg presents all the appearance of a flourishing city, 
its population now amounting to upwards of sixty thousand 
inhabitants, and the improvements within the last ten or 
twelve years are very evident. Its beautiful Cathedral, with 
its lofty spire, towering even above that of the great pyramid 
of Egypt, has ever been an object of especial interest to visi- 
tors ; and the Church of St. Thomas, in which is the splendid 
monument erected to the memory of Marshal Saxe, and in 
which the bodies of a Count of Nassau, and his daughter, 
in a high state of preservation, which were discovered in the 
vaults under that church in 1802, where they are supposed 
to have been interred some three or four hundred years, are 
now exhibited in coffins with glass tops, habited in a portion 
of the dresses in which they were originally interred. The 
wonderful clock in the Cathedral, which occupied its ingeni- 
ous constructor twenty years in completing, and which, in addi- 
tion to many other objects, describes the motions of the 
planets, is looked upon as a splendid piece of mechanism. 
Our party was present in the Cathedral in the evening during 
a religious service, occasioned by the late inundation in their 
immediate neighborhood, which was numerously attended, 
and which was of a very solemn and impressive character. 



A summer's tour in europe. 133 

The effect upon our minds was no doubt much increased by 
the deep gloom in v which the immense edifice was shrouded 
at the hour of twilight, and from the deep and thrilling tones 
of its powerful organ, as well as from the impressive nature 
of the service itself. Strasbourg claims the honor of the in- 
vention of printing, and a very handsome bronze monument 
has been erected in one of its public squares to the memory 
of the inventor, Guttenburg. 

It was not until we had left Strasbourg, the day after our 
arrival there, that we began to realize the sad destruction oc- 
casioned by the inundation upon the Rhine — the passage 
across the river to Kiel, on the opposite shore, had been cut 
off for carriages several days, for although the bridge, which 
is supported by a line of fast anchored boats, withstood the 
torrent, yet the road on either side of it was washed away, 
and temporary footways to the shores had only as yet been 
substituted, our baggage being taken over by hand. The 
river itself, although the water had fallen several feet, still 
presented the appearance of a wide-spread lake, and the ex* 
tensive fields of wheat, corn, &c, which had been covered and 
ruined by the flood, on all the low lands upon the river, pre- 
sented a melancholy sight to view. Our road from Kiel to 
this place, was over a level plain, sometimes merging conside- 
rably from the river, at others again approaching its banks, 
but every step of the way presented to our sight the blasted 
hopes of the unfortunate planter, the fruits of whose labors 
were thus wrested from him at the moment of fruition. After 
leaving the river, and when within four or five miles of this 
place, we found quite an inland lake, created by the streams 
which had rushed down from the adjacent mountains, over- 
spreading the level lands to a very great extent, and of course 
drowning and destroying all vegetation under it. 

As we approached the vale in which Baden is situated, the 



134 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE* 

terrible havoc caused by the flood, by which it was to a great 
extent submerged, began to be evidenced. Extensive land- 
slides had in many places obstructed the carriage road, and 
to the right, at some distance, we observed the branch rail 
road, the foundation of which was carried away at several 
points, leaving the skeleton of iron standing alone, whilst in 
other places the entire embankment, rails and all, were swept 
off together. Approaching still nearer to the town, the beau-* 
tifully gravelled, shady walks, adorned with flower-beds in the 
greatest profusion, which it had taken years to complete^ 
were entirely torn up, or covered to a great depth with the 
sand, gravel and rubbish, brought down by the rush of water 
upon them. Advancing still further, we came to the dwell- 
ings at the low T er extremity of the town, some of which were 
undermined and thrown down, whilst others that were strong 
enough to withstand the pressure, showed unmistakable evi- 
dence of the height to which the torrent had ascended in and 
around them. Coming up to the more compact part of the 
town, where several of the largest hotels are situated, upon 
the banks of the little stream w 7 hich flows through it, we found 
them still standing, indeed, but several of them nearly under- 
mined, and the ornamental fences and terraces that surround- 
ed and embellished them all swept away, and together with 
trees which had been torn up by the roots, timber, scantling, 
and lumber, of every description, piled up in heaps upon every 
spot where they could make a lodgement. Nearly every 
bridge across this stream, of which there were a number 
within the limits of the town, w r as either entirely swept away 
and carried down the stream, or so much impaired as to ren- 
der it necessary to re-construct them anew. The town itself, 
it will be recollected by those who have visited it, is situated 
upon a narrow slip of level land on each side of the stream 
which passes through it, and the streets extend up the slopes 



135 

on either side. On all sides of the town, very extensive and com- 
modious shady walks and drives have been laid out and con- 
structed. Indeed everything which the art or ingenuity of man 
could devise to make the place attractive to visitors, lied been 
done ; but it will be sometime before they can be again restored 
to the condition they were in before this sad calamity befel the 
town. Yet the place, it would appear, is a favorite one with 
the Grand Duke, and as he possesses both energy and means, 
and will be aided in his endeavors by many wealthy persons 
who reside in the town or in its vicinity, it may soon again be 
restored, in some degree, to its former beauty. Already a 
great body of men are engaged in clearing away the masses 
of rubbish piled up in all directions around, replacing as well 
as they can the fallen bridges and fences, and clearing out the 
various obstructions in the streets and passages. It is under-' 
stood that six lives were lost at one point, a short distance 
above the town, two men and four children — the former per- 
ished in an unavailing attempt to rescue the latter from a cot 
which was carried away by the sweeping torrent. 

Those who were present, describe the scene during the night 
of its occurrence, and the following morning, as truly appall- 1 
ino\ It was on the evening of the 1st instant — it had been 
raining for some days previous, and the earth had become 
completely saturated with water, but no fears of a catastrophe 
like that which impended over them, was apprehended by 
any one. Towards night, unusually heavy black clouds were 
observed to be collecting around the mountain tops, and soon 
the rain began to fall down in torrents, rendering it difficult 
for those who were at the usual public places of resort to re- 
gain their homes. Very soon the streams began to pour 
down from the mountains, which surround the town on all 
sides, and the usually small river which passes through the 
town was swollen at once to a fearful height, increasing stea- 



136 



dily throughout the night, and exciting during the hours of 
darkness the most alarming apprehensions for the safety of 
its inhabitants — and yet, with the exception of those named 
above, no lives were lost, although many owed their safety to 
hastily constructed rafts or floating boards, upon which they 
escaped to places of safety, there being nothing like boats to 
be obtained in the town. 

Some parties left the place immediately, but others have 
come in to supply their places, and the usual round of gaiety 
and dissipation goes on as if nothing of a calamitous nature 
had happened. Last evening an Amateur Concert was given, 
under the patronage of the nobility and gentry present, for 
the relief of the poor who had suffered by the flood, and a 
handsome sum was realized for the purpose — indeed, the sub- 
scriptions for that purpose have been most general and liberal, 
the proprietors of the gaming tables, amongst others, having 
contributed very handsomely to this praiseworthy object. 

Much the largest portion of the company at present here 
are from the neighboring countries on the Continent, and 
from England, there being but few Americans included in 
the number. Two or three days is quite sufficient to satisfy 
any reasonable person with this or any other large watering 
place* It is our intention, therefore, to be off to-day for the 
heart of German}', Munich, Vienna, Dresden, Berlin, &c, and 
back again to the Rhine at Frankfort. You may, perhaps, 
hear from me again, in the course of this round. 

A Traveller. 



A summer's TOUR IN EUROPE. 13 7 



LETTER XXI. 



MUNICH, August 13. 
Three days' travel have brought us from the valley of the 
Rhine thus far into Southern Germany— thanks to the facility 
afforded by rail road conveyances. I wrote to you on the 8th 
instant, from Baden-Baden, and the rail road on the German 
side of the Rhine being so far repaired as to admit of travel 
upon it, we left Baden at eleven o'clock in the forenoon of that 
clay for Heidelberg. Shortly before we reached the nearest 
station, which is some four or five miles from Baden, there had 
been found, partially buried in the sand, near the station- 
house, the body of a small boy, one of the unfortunate suffer- 
ers in the flood of the 1st instant, which was the cause of so 
much injury to that town. Whilst waiting at the depot for 
the down train to arrive, we had the pleasure of meeting with 
a party of our young friends from Charleston, on their way 
to Switzerland and Italy, buoyant with the delightful antici- 
pations of the pleasures which awaited them in their tour 
through these interesting countries. A few miles below Ba- 
den, we came to the strongly fortified city of Rastadt, an 
important frontier stronghold in the defence of Germany from 
any French invasion ; and, although its works are already 
very strong, extensive additional out-works are in progress of 
erection by the German Confederation, and through which the 
rail road track passes. Travelling down in the direction of the 
river, we arrive at Carlsruhe, situated upon a richly cultivated 
plain, the residence of the Grand Duke of Baden, whose palace 
and extensive parks are generally considered objects worthy 
of notice by travellers. At the station here we met a long 
train of cars, filled with some four or five hundred soldiers, 
with their field-pieces and horses attached, ready to start, pro- 
12 



138 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

bably, for Rastadt — showing to us the facilities which would 
thus be afforded, in the event of war, for the rapid convey- 
ance of an army from one point to another. We arrived at 
Heidelberg at five o'clock, and immediately after dinner 
mounted up to the renowned old castle, which overhangs the 
town, and which is considered on all hands to be one of the 
most interesting castellated ruins in the world. It has with- 
stood numerous assaults, both in ancient and modern times, 
the effects of which are still apparent, particularly those caused 
by the French when it was last assailed, undermined, and 
partially blown up by them. The celebrated colossal Tun, of 
immense dimensions, is still in good preservation in the vaults 
of the castle, and never fails to be seen by every visitor, of 
which the number is very great, frequently amounting to a 
hundred in a day — and thus affords a very handsome income 
to the person having it in custody, who has four or five young 
and interesting daughters who have acquired the French and 
English languages, and are daily employed in conducting 
strangers over and do: jribing to them the different parts and 
purposes of the ruins. Heidelberg is a very favorite resort of 
travellers, and being the seat of learning, comprising some 
five or six hundred students in its University, and possessed of 
one of the most extensive and valuable libraries, affords many 
advantages, both to students and men of letters. It has a 
population of about twelve thousand inhabitants, and its en- 
virons are a perfect garden, producing abundance of grain and 
frit it. We left it the following morning in a carriage for 
Heilbronn, a distance of some thirty miles, situated at the 
head of steamboat navigation upon the Neckar. Arriving 
there a few minutes too late to take the rail road train for 
Stutgard at two o'clock, we were obliged to wait until six, 
which afforded me an opportunity after dinner of taking a 
view of this rather singular looking old town ; and I was not a 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 139 

little surprised to find at the quay, on a canal, near the bank 
of the river, four or five good sized boats, loaded with bales of 
cotton, the product of our Southern country ; and at the same 
time, lying upon the quay, were some hundreds of barrels of 
turpentine, the product, as I was informed, of the neighboring 
fir forests of Germany. The barrels are larger and longer 
than those in which the same article is shipped from the 
Carolinas. 

Heilbronn, although now in rather a decaying state, was 
once a free city of the empire, and a place of much trade, 
from its vicinity to the frontiers of Suabia and the Rhine. A 
fine view of the valley of the i^eckar can be obtained from a 
watch-tower which overlooks the town. Leaving Heilbronn. 
at six o'clock, by the rail road train, we reached Stutgard, the 
capital of the King of Wurtemberg, at a little after eight, 
passing through two pretty extensive tunnels on the way — 
otherwise the route is a perfectly level one, mostly upon or 
near the banks of the river Neckar, which is united a little 
below Stutgard, with the Nesenbach, and thus affords a favo- 
rable channel for trade, to the Rhine and the sea. 

Stutgard is beautifully situated, being surrounded by gen- 
tly rising hills, all in a state of high cultivation. It has a 
population of about forty thousand inhabitants, and is the 
residence of the court and foreign ministers. The only public 
buildings which it contains, are the new and old palaces. The 
former is a handsome freestone edifice, with two wings, front- 
ing upon a large public square. It contains some pieces of 
sculpture by Canova, and near to it is a colossal bronze statue 
of Schiller, designed by Thorwaldsen, which is considered to 
be a beautiful work of art, exhibiting, as has been happily 
said, at the same tinie, the glory and shame of the city, 
Schiller having been expelled from it in the early part of his 
career, for the too great freedom of some of his writings, and 



140 A SUMMER'S TOUR IX EUROPE. 

now honored by the erection of this handsome monument to 
his memory. The house at Marbeck, about six miles from 
Stutgard, in which the poet was born, is still standing*. 

We left StutQ-ard on the mornins* of the 10th in the rail 
road train for UJm, the frontier town of Wurtemberg, situated 
upon the left bank of the river Danube, the right bank being 
in Bavaria. Ulm is ingloriously distinguished in modern his- 
tory., by the disgraceful surrender of the place to the French, 
by Gen. Mack, in 1805, when thirty-thousand Austrians capit- 
ulated without striking a blow, through the cowardice or 
treachery of their leader, and were made prisoners of war. It 
was on this occasion that Marshal Ney received the title of 
Duke of Elchingen, from a village situated on the opposite 
side of the river, as a reward for the advantages gained by 
him over the Austrians. Ulm has about sixteen thousand 
inhabitants, of which thirteen thousand are Protestants, and 
three thousand Catholics, and has some trade and manufac- 
tures, but not enough to give it the appearance of much ac- 
tivity. 

The rail road in this direction terminating at Ulm, we 
availed ourselves of a new mode of conveyance, the Eilwagen, 
a post coach, carrying four passengers, very conveniently divi- 
ded into two compartments, and drawn by three horses abreast, 
the driver sitting upon the carriage box. These vehicles are 
under government direction, and run with great regularity, at 
a speed of about seven miles per hour. Our road was over an 
undulating country, generally not so well cultivated as were 
the lands along the valley of the Neckar in Wurtemberg, and 
a very considerable portion of it covered with pine woods. 
Most of the way, however, through both of these kingdoms, 
we have found the roads lined with fruit trees, apples, pears, 
cherries, &c. 

We arrived at Augsburg sometime before the hour for the 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 141 

train to start for Munich, and were afforded an opportunity of 
seeing something of the city. It has a population of upwards 
of thirty thousand, and although not at this time presenting 
the appearance of much activity, is nevertheless said to wield 
a monied influence, second only to Frankfort, throughout the 
German confederation. Its political influence, too, must be 
great, the Algemine Zeitung, or Augsburg Gazette, published 
here, having an immense circulation, and receiving contribu- 
tions of political articles, as is understood, from the various 
diplomatic representatives of the Continental powers. 

On the arrival of the train by which we were to depart for 
this city, we observed an unusual movement among the 
crowd of people collected around, and particularly with the 
officers of the army, many of whom were present, and we 
were soon apprised of the cause, being told that the person- 
age who was attracting so much attention was the younger 
brother of the King, Prince Adelbert, a gentleman no way 
distinguished in his dress, and of a rather unprepossessing 
personal appearance. 

The distance from Augsburg to Munich, is traversed in two 
hours and a half, including a number of stoppages — distance 
some forty-five miles — and we arrived here during a pouring 
rain, a circumstance by no means pleasant, under which to 
enter a strange city, with all the bustle and confusion gene- 
rally attendant upon arrival at rail road stations ; and what 
was still more unpleasant, the city being thronged with 
strangers, we had to drive to three different hotels, before we 
could procure apartments. We were, however, very comfort- 
ably accommodated, at last, at the Bavarian House — (Baieris- 
cher Hof.) 

As we have but two days to give to sight-seeing in the 
city, our first object will be to engage an intelligent valet-de- 
place, to aid us in this undertaking, for it requires a person 



142 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

not only acquainted with the places, but with the particular 
hours also, when the objects to be seen can be examined, to 
get through with so many interesting ones as are to be met 
with in this beautiful and highly interesting modern-built 
city. Modern-built it may well be called, for many of its 
lofty churches, commanding public edifices, and entire streets 
and squares of rich private dwellings, have sprung into exist- 
ence within the last twenty or thirty years, and present all the 
freshness and elegance of appearance appertaining to newly 
constructed towns. 

As it would probably require more room in your paper, were 
I to crowd into this sheet all that I may wish to say of the 
numerous objects of interest with which this truly beautiful city 
abounds, I shall defer saying more until I have had an oppor- 
tunity of extending my observations still further ; and as the 
valet is ready with his carriage at the door, I shall bid you 
adieu for the moment, and re-commence my labors for the 
day. A Traveller. 



LETTER XXII 



MUNICH, August 13. 
Having been busily occupied for two days in exploring 
this beautiful town, and in examining everything which it 
contains worthy the attention of a stranger, I will endeavor 
to give to your readers a succinct account of them ; and I 
may premise by stating that a great majority of the things 
which render the city so attractive to travellers, owe their 
existence to the ex-king Ludwig, or Louis the First, who 
commenced laying the foundation of these great improve- 
ments and embellishments of his native city whilst he was 



143 

yet a young man, and heir presumptive to the throne. In 
his travels to the East, and other foreign lands, having a taste 
for everything appertaining to the Fine Arts, he lost no 
opportunity of obtaining, and sending home to Munich, 
everything which he could obtain that was rare and curious ; 
and thus commenced forming the collections which now 
adorn the capitol. He commenced early in life, too, to cul- 
tivate an acquaintance with artists, and to induce them to 
visit, and if possible, to settle here. These efforts were in- 
creased when he came to the throne, and his large income 
was freely expended in every way which was calculated to 
extend, improve, and embellish the city. The result has been, 
that it has outstripped all the other cities on the Continent, 
in the rapid progress which it has made in its career. In 
thus contemplating what has been accomplished by the late 
king, we cannot but regret that he should have so far forgot- 
ten what was due to his reputation, as a monarch and a man, 
as to have committed the folly of taking under his protection, 
at his time of life, an opera dancer, the celebrated Lola 
Montes, and thereby outraged the feelings of his subjects to 
such an extent, as rendered it necessary for him, three years 
since, to abdicate his throne, in favor of his eldest son, now 
Maximilian II., and go into comparative retirement. He still, 
however, we are told, is kindly remembered by his people, for 
the good he has done, whilst they are disposed to forget and 
forgive the follies by which he lost their good opinion. His 
son and successor, it is feared, has not the taste or disposition 
to carry out all the great improvements which his father had 
in contemplation. 

The first object of attention, to strangers, is the new palace, 
which adjoins the old one, and which, taking the two together, 
are considered to be the most tasteful and beautiful in Europe. 
The new part is after the model of the Pitti Palace in Flo- 



144 a summer's tour in Europe. 

rence, and the whole cover a great extent of ground, and are 
surrounded on all sides by fine streets, or beautifully laid out 
public walks or grounds. The Museum, which forms a part 
of this extensive establishment, is considered one of the richest 
of the kind in Germany. Visitors are taken through the 
twelve spacious halls, which are kept as show-rooms, or occu- 
pied on great public occasions, by servants of the crown, whose 
special business it is, and who explain as they pass through 
them, the various purposes to wmich they are dedicated — 
thus, you are shown one saloon hung round with exquisitely 
painted portraits of the various ladies of the royal family, and 
-of the most beautiful women of the present day, which now 
do, or have within a few years past graced the saloons of 
fashion in the capital. They were mostly painted by Fieler, 
an artist of high repute in that particular line of the art. 
Another hall contains paintings by other artists, of the various 
battles fought by Napoleon, in which the troops of Bavaria, 
then the ally of France, took a conspicuous part. Another 
has the history of Charlemagne, in beautiful frescoes; another, 
the history and battles of Barbarossa ; and another, the histo- 
ry of Rudolph of Hapsburg, &c. But the most splendid 
saloons are the Ball Room, and the Throne Room, upon 
which everything which could add to their beauty, seems to 
have been lavished. The Chapel, in which the royal family 
and members of the Court worship, also in the new palace, is 
most gorgeously adorned with beautiful paintings, and the 
most rich and costly gilding. But the Jewel Room, in a 
separate part of the old palace, to which you are last con- 
ducted, is that which contains the greatest amount of wealth, 
being surrounded on all sides by lofty and highly embellished 
cases, filled throughout with articles of every ornamental cha- 
racter, studded with diamonds and precious stones, in every 
possible imaginary shape — embracing crowns, tiaras, &c, and 



145 

amongst others, a cavalier mounted upon a superb horse, both 
horse and rider made up of precious jewels ; with numerous 
richly mounted swords, helmets, and the like. 

The Royal Library is now contained in a most extensive 
new block of buildings, calculated to contain 2,000,000 
volumes ; it has now upon its shelves 700,000, and ad- 
ditions are constantly making to it ; it is the largest, with 
the exception of that in Paris, in the world. It contains 
many scarce and valuable books, manuscripts, &c, and is 
daily open to all who wish to visit it, having a most capa- 
cious reading-room, with tables, desks, &c, for the accommo- 
dation of all who may wish to resort to the books in the 
library, either for study or copying. My attention was 
called to one of the students thus employed — a young negro, 
who, I was informed, was from Guadaloupe, and was en- 
gaged in studying music. The main stair-way, which leads 
to the library halls, would seem to be the widest and hand- 
somest I ever ascended ; and around the great arena, at 
which you arrive after ascending it, and the whole extent of 
which is occupied by the gradual ascent of the stairs, are 
arranged the busts of all the great literary men of modern 
times. 

The Pinakothek, or Gallery of Paintings, is considered to 
be one of the most beautiful edifices of the kind in Europe ; 
it has upon its walls about fifteen hundred of the most select 
and valuable paintings from the king's various collections, 
which, it is said, amount in all to some eight or ten thou- 
sand. 

There is also in process of erection, in a line parallel with 
the Pinakothek, another equally extensive gallery, intended 
for the reception exclusively of modern paintings, a number 
of which are ready to be placed within it as soon as finished. 
One of these, a most beautiful production, was to be seen at 
13 



146 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE, 

the studio of the talented artist, Kaulback ; it represents the 
Destruction of Jerusalem, as predicted by the prophets ; it is 
very large, and is considered equal, if not superior, to any 
painting of the kind which has been recently produced. 

The Picture Gallery of the Duke of Luchtenburg is a 
smaller one, containing but about nine hundred paintings, 
but they are many of them master-pieces. Of the number 
are three full length likenesses of Josephine, of her son, 
Eugene Beauharnois, and of his widow, the sister of the 
ex-king, who died just three months since. They are con- 
sidered to be striking likenesses, and are beautiful artistic 
productions. 

The Glyptotheck, a Sculpture Gallery, is a very noble and 
classical building, and contains a numerous collection of the 
works of ancient and modern artists. Several of the pro- 
ductions of Thorwaldsen, of Canova, and of Danaker, are 
amongst the number. 

The Odeon is a beautiful building, which is allotted to 
musical soirees. There is also the Jesuits' College, with a 
cabinet of coins, and the Natural History Gallery. 

But I have yet to speak of the churches — though last, not 
least, in the great array of public edifices which adorn this 
imposing capitol. They are numerous, and several of the 
more modern ones surpassingly beautiful. The most impor- 
tant one, the Frauen Kirche, or the Cathedral, built in the 
year 1488 ; the Jesuits' Church, a beautiful structure in the 
Italian style, containing the tomb of Eugene Beauharnois, by 
Thorwaldsen, one of the happiest efforts of this great artist, 
and the head and figure of Beauharnois, considered here, 
where he was much respected and beloved, to be very true 
to nature ; the Theatiner Kirche is in the heavy Italian style, 
and contains the vault of the royal family ; the Ludvvig 
Kirche, completed only a few years since, is a plain but large 



A SUMMER^ TOUR IN EUROPE* 14? 

and appropriate structure ; the Mariahilf, in the suburbs, is 
in the pure Gothic style, with nineteen beautifully painted 
glass windows, and the roof covered with small handsome 
tiles, laid in a manner to resemble mosaic work ; but the 
Basilica of Holy Boniface, in the Carlstrasse, is pronounced 
to be, without exception, the most beautiful church in Ger- 
many. There are several other churches in the city of minor 
interest, but we did not visit them. 

Great attention is paid in most of the cities of the Conti- 
nent, to the establishment of public walks for the comfort 
and accommodation of ail classes of citizens, but in no one 
which we have visited are they upon so en tensive a scale as 
at Munich. Placed upon an extensive plain, with nothing to 
obstruct them, the fathers of the city have surrounded and 
interspersed throughout it the most beautiful shady walks 
and drives which could be desired. One of them, just with- 
out the beautiful arch which terminates the long and hand- 
some street, the Ludwig Strauss, is called the English Garden. 
It was laid out by the celebrated Count Rumford, and is four 
miles in length. It is mostly covered with a thick growth 
of handsome trees and shrubbery, through which are traced 
innumerable drives and foot-paths, and through which also 
meanders a small branch of the Iser, which river, it is 
known, passes through the town, and is so divided here as to 
beautify and adorn this enchanting promenade. 

But the greatest ornamental work, and one which will 
have the most striking and imposing effect, which has yet 
been projected for beautifying and adorning the capitol, is a 
" Temple of Fame," now rapidly advancing to completion ; 
it is situated some little distance without the city, upon a 
rather commanding artificial elevation, which partially over- 
looks both the town and a large handsome lawn — a place 
which has been reserved many years for an annual agricul- 



148 A SUMMER'S TOUR IK EUROPE. 

tural exhibition, under the patronage of the king, to which 
great numbers from the country resort with specimens of the 
various products of their farms, and to whom prizes are 
awarded, and where races and athletic games are introduced 
for the amusement of the masses ; it is here, overlooking 
this time-honored scene of their enjoyments, that this mag- 
nificent temple has been reared. The whole edifice is at 
present covered up by an immense wooden structure, which 
conceals it entirely from view without ; but its beautiful pro- 
portions, its lofty facades, and the massy marble fluted 
columns which support its entire front and ends, can be 
adequately seen and appreciated by passing through the 
interior of the extensive pile. It is calculated that the 
whole interior and exterior will be completed in three years 
from this time, and that the scaffolding which now surrounds 
and conceals it will all be removed in order to reveal the 
edifice to the admiring public at the annual exhibition, which 
takes place in the ensuing month of October. The building 
is designed as a Pantheon, in which all the eminent men of 
Bavaria are to be immortalized, by having their effigies 
placed in niches which are prepared under its extensive dome. 
Immediately in front of the centre of this most imposing 
and magnificent temple, has been placed a colossal bronze 
female figure, emblematical of Bavaria, holding in her right 
hand a laurel wreath, with which she may be supposed to be 
crowning the distinguished men of the kingdom. By her 
side rests an enormous lion — the royal beast which is every- 
where to be seen as the guardian or defender of the state. 
Such is the gigantic proportions of the female figure, that six 
persons can be comfortably seated upon bronze cushions 
within the head, at the same time, to which we ascended by 
a spiral staircase within the figure. The whole bronze struc- 
ture rests upon a broad pedestal of beautifully polished mar- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 149 

ble. The casting of colossal bronze figures of all descriptions, 
has been brought to high perfection here ; and there are now 
exhibiting at the World's Fair, in London, several specimens 
sent from this place, which were thought, at the opening of 
the exhibition, to be unequalled. 

Several monuments of this material have been placed in 
various parts of the city, to commemorate some striking 
event, or to do honor to the memory of some soldier or 
patriot. One of the former is a handsome bronze pillar, 
ninety-five feet in height, erected to the memory of the Ba- 
varian soldiers attached to the French army, which invaded 
Russia under Napoleon, and who perished in that disastrous 
campaign. Two others are statues of Gen. Wrede and Gen. 
Tilly, distinguished officers of the Bavarian army. There 
are, besides, a number of statues of princes of the royal 
family, but I did not take any note of them. 

The Bavarian army is said to be kept in a good state of 
discipline, some nine or ten thousand being stationed in and 
around the city. 

The present population of this city is estimated at 110,000, 
of which only about ten thousand are Protestants, so that it 
is essentially a Catholic community. 

In the late disastrous rains, which seem to have been very 
heavy all over the Continent, this city has suffered in common 
with most other places ; the river Iser, which passes through 
the town, overflowed its banks in all directions, and many of 
the streets and squares in its immediate vicinity were com- 
pletely submerged, in some places the water being up to the 
ceilings of the lower floor rooms. Much property was either 
destroyed or injured, and many bridges, &c, carried away, but 
happily no lives were lost. This occurred on the fatal night 
of the first of August ; and I learn, whilst writing this, from 
a gentleman who arrived here last night from Switzerland, 



150 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

that the most sweeping destruction at the same time visited 
several towns in that country. At Tnterlaken the flood was 
so great as to carry away all the bridges over the stream 
which passes through the town, and a school-room, in which 
fourteen boys were lodged, was carried away, and they all 
perished. An old gentleman, Mr. Hoesteter, who kept the 
hotel in which we were lodged some two or three weeks 
since, also perished, with a niece of his, whom he was en- 
deavoring to rescue from a small building in which she was 
employed upon the bank of the stream. The poor old gen- 
tleman remarked to one of our party while we were there, 
that it was his intention to retire, and gi* T e up his house to 
some one else at the end of the present season, as he had 
realized a competence, and was desirous of repose and quiet, 
little dreaming of the sad fate which awaited him. We leave 
to-day for Vienna, by the way of Hatisbon and the Danube. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XXIII 



LINZ, (on the Danube,) August 15. 
Leaving Munich at five o'clock on the morning of the 13th 
instant, we retraced our steps to Augsburg, forty -five miles, 
and then branching off towards the Danube, reached Donau- 
worth, at the head of steamboat navigation on that river, at 
half-past eight o'clock, performing the whole distance, seventy 
miles, at the rate of twenty miles an hour — the road being 
over a level plain, covered on either hand almost entirely with 
waving fields of wheat. This road is admirably managed, a 
man being stationed at every half mile of the way to notify 
the conductor of the train that all is right, and at some of the 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 151 

intermediate stations lofty poles are placed, which can be seen 
at a considerable distance ahead, and upon which signals are 
made to warn the conductor in time, if there is any impedi- 
ment in the way. Donauworth was once a free and imperial 
city, but its population has now diminished to twenty-five 
thousand. It has, however, considerably improved since the 
introduction of steam navigation upon the river, which has 
only been within the last twenty years. Its history is remark- 
able, from the circumstance of its being the place where the 
first religious outbreak occurred which led to the Thirty Years' 
War. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, its in- 
habitants being mostly Protestants, the Catholics were obliged 
to content themselves with a single church, and the Abbot of 
the establishment venturing, in spite of the popular prejudice, 
to conduct a procession of the Host through the streets, was 
assaulted by a mob, and barely escaped with his life. In con- 
sequence of this, and other violent acts of the citizens, the 
town was placed under the ban of the Empire, and Maximili- 
an, Duke of Bavaria, with seven thousand men, was ordered 
to carry it into execution. The punishment inflicted was the 
abolition of the Protestant religion, and the confiscation of the 
privileges of the town. The consequences of this event were 
of the highest moment in the affairs of Europe ; the immedi- 
ate result was the formation of the Protestant League and 
Catholic Union, — and thus this apparently insignificant riot 
was the spark which lighted up the flames of the Thirty 
Years' War. Donauworth and its vicinity are celebrated, too, 
as being the scene of some of the great military events of 
those times. The heights of Shellenburg, which overhang 
the town, are memorable for a victory gained by the Duke of 
Marlborough, who carried the entrenched camp of the Bava- 
rians, constructed upon it, a few weeks before the great and 
decisive battle of Blenheim, which has immortalized his 



152 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

memory, and furnished a name for the princely palace and 
manor awarded to him by his country. The scene of this 
great battle, the village of Blenheim, lies upon the opposite 
side of the river, some six or eight miles above Donau worth. 
It was upon this plain that the Duke, with Prince Eugene, 
achieved the famous victory over the French and Bavarians, 
under Marshal Tallard and the Elector of Bavaria, who lost 
forty thousand men and one hundred and twenty pieces of 
cannon, Blenheim being burned during the action. A post- 
road traverses a portion of the field, and rests partly on a 
foundation of bones of men and horses, some of which were 
disinterred in constructing it a few years back. 

The Danube, on which we had now embarked, is the chief 
river of Germany, and is second to none in Europe, save the 
Volga, 'but owing to the rapidity of its current, and the diffi- 
culty of navigating it, it was not much frequented by travell- 
ers until 1830, when the first steamboat was launched upon it 
at Vienna ; yet its banks disclose scenery as striking as any 
on the Rhine, particularly at the defile above Ratisbon, at 
Passau, and the defile above Linz. Our first day's voyage 
was from Donauworth to Ratisbon. Near Oberhausen, a 
village situated upon the right bank of the river, stands the 
monument of the brave Latour d'Auvergne, who, refusing any 
rank in the army, chose to remain the " first grenadier of 
France." He was killed here by an Austrian lancer in 1800. 
Ingolstcidt, upon the left bank, is now a very strongly fortified 
town, its present defences being all of modern construction. 
Its old fortifications have withstood numerous sieves, the last 
of which was by Gen. Moreau, in 1800, when it held out 
against him for three months, but he finally succeeded in 
carrying it, when he caused all its works of defence to be 
demolished. The town of Neustadt stands about a mile from 
the river, on the right bank. Here, as in other places along 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 153 

the river, numerous traces of the Romans are to be met with, 
such as roads, forts, &c. Between Neustadt and Ratisbon, 
the scenery becomes very interesting — the Danube forcing its 
way through a grand and gloomy defile, nearly a mile in 
length, the sides of which are formed by perpendicular preci- 
pices of rock, from four hundred to six hundred feet in height, 
whose summits in some places seem to overhang the river. 
At the lower extremity of this defile, at the spot where the 
river Altmuhl joins the Danube, is the town of Kellheim, now 
numbering about three thousand inhabitants, but which is 
likely to acquire importance from its situation at the mouth 
of the Ludwig's Canal, recently formed to unite the Danube 
with Bamberg on the Maine, a distance of about one hundred 
and twelve miles. Its construction is due to Louis, the ex- 
King of Bavaria, who will thus realize, after the lapse of a 
thousand years, the favorite scheme of Charlemagne, of con- 
necting the Black Sea with the German Ocean ; by means of 
which a person may embark at London, and go by water 
over the Continent to Constantinople. Owing to an accident 
to the engine of our small steamer, which delayed us an 
hour, we did not reach Ratisbon until after eight o'clock in 
the evening. 

We had previously decided, however, to remain at Ratis- 
bon, that we might be afforded an opportunity of visiting the 
far-famed Valhalla, one of the greatest works of modern times. 
It was commenced in 1830, and completed in 1842. It is a 
Grecian Temple of the Doric order, in the colossal proportions 
of the Parthenon at Athens, and is situated upon a command- 
ing eminence, three hundred feet in height, the foot of which 
is swept by the Danube, — a situation very much resembling, in 
point of elevation, that of the Parthenon itself. It was built 
by the ex-King Louis of Bavaria, and is intended as a Tem- 
ple of Fame for Germany, — very much resembling, in this 



154 A SUMMER'S TOtJR IN EUROPE. 

respect, the one now in process of erection in the suburbs of 
Munich, as described to you in my last letter. In it have 
been placed the busts, executed in the beautiful marble of 
Carrara, of many of the worthies of Germany, whose like- 
nesses have been transmitted down to the present time. 
Others, of whom there are no likenesses extant, are com- 
memorated by bronze tablets, on which their names, &c, are 
inscribed, which are placed upon the walls. They embrace 
her heroes, statesmen, sages, poets, artists, musicians, &c, 
from Arminius, the conqueror of the Romans, down to Blu- 
cher and Schwartzenberg, amongst the warriors, and from the 
early meiste re- singers, down to Goethe, Schiller, and the 
poets of the present day. The chief sculptors of Germany 
have exerted their talents in preparing decorations for the in- 
terior of this beautiful edifice ; but much the largest portion 
of these embellishments have been executed by Schwanthaler, 
he having been eight years engaged upon the series of figures 
upon the north and south pediments. That on the north, 
sixty-two feet from the ground, represents, in detached figures, 
the victories gained by Arminius over the Romans ; that on 
the south, overlooking the Danube, represents Germany re- 
ceiving the German States, each attended by a symbolical 
figure, intended to represent the provinces it regained from 
the French. And it is asserted that nothing, since the days 
of the Greeks and Romans, equal to these pediments, has 
been executed in marble. Each pediment fills up a space of 
seventy-two feet in length. The Valhalla itself measures, at 
its base, two hundred and thirty feet in length, one hundred 
and eight feet in breadth, and sixty-four feet in height. It 
has seventeen massive marble columns at each side, and eight 
at each end. The temple is based upon a lower structure, 
nearly one hundred feet under the ground upon the upper 
side, which very magnificently projects beyond the southern 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 155 

declivity of the hill. The terraces, -with the landing-places 
joining them, form an ascent to the building of a most impo- 
sing appearance and great beauty. They are formed of cyclo- 
pean walls of white marble, and present almost as imposing 
an aspect as the temple itself. 

The interior is extremely gorgeous, the floor paved, and the 
sides lined with polished marble of different colors, from the 
neighborhood of Baireuth and Salzburg. Six exquisitely exe- 
cuted figures of Victory adorn the sides, placed upon pedestals, 
sculptured in white marble by Rauch; but the interior decora- 
tions are entirely too numerous for me to attempt a description 
of them. Altogether, this wonderful temple seems to be 
admitted, if we may judge from the remarks made in the 
album by visitors who have come from all parts of the world, 
to exceed anything of the kind which has been reared in 
modern times. A carriage road has been constructed from 
the village of Donaustabet, which winds round up to the rear 
of the temple. The view from the platform in front of the 
temple is most striking, extending as it does over the flat 
plains of Bavaria to the far-distant snowy peaks of the Alps 
of Tyrol. The effect of the whole scene, especially as you 
view it on descending the river, is very much improved by 
the dark woods which cover the mountains to the north, and 
set off the temple to the greatest advantage. 

The old castle of Stauf, now in ruins, which overhangs the 
village of Donaustabet, opposite to and about a mile above 
the Valhalla, has, in its time, been the scene of many severe 
contests, and of various fortunes. It is now, with the land 
and its environs, in possession of the Prince of Tours and 
Taxis, who has a handsome palace on the banks of the river 
near to it, where he passes the summer months. 

In the city of Ratisbon itself, we have found little to inter- 
est or amuse us. It was once much larger and more flourish- 



156 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

ing, and still presents the appearance of former grandeur. It 
has now a population of some twenty-three thousand, and was 
for many years the seat of the Imperial Diets. It has sus- 
tained in its time a great number of sieges, the last of which 
was by Napoleon in 1809, when the town was taken by 
storm, after being obstinately defended by the Austrians, 
during which nearly two hundred houses and a whole suburb 
were burned to the ground. Napoleon received a wound in 
the foot on this occasion, and the house into which he was 
taken was pointed out to us by our valet-de-place. The 
Rathhaus, in which the Diets were held, is a gloomy old pile. 
On the ground-floor of the building, and below the ground, 
are the Dungeons and Chamber of Torture, in which are still 
exhibited the various instruments of torture, which the woman 
who conducted us through the disgusting apartments inform- 
ed us had not been used for the last seventy years. I felt 
horrified at the sight of them, and could not summon patience 
to inspect them, or listen to the account given of them and 
their diabolical uses. There is also exhibited here a book, 
printed in 1769, which contains not only a description of the 
tortures, but representations of the modes of inflicting them. 
The Cathedral is one of the finest old Gothic churches in 
Germany ; it was begun in 1275. It has in it some fine 
painted glass windows of the early times, and others of mo- 
dern date. Those of the recently recovered art are considered 
to be very nearly equal in beauty to any of the former. The 
pulpit in the Cathedral is of silver. There are numerous 
other churches, but none worthy of particular notice. There 
is a pleasant shady walk surrounding the town, as is usual 
with most of the cities on the Continent. 

It was so foggy when the time for our departure from Ra- 
tisbon arrived, that we were obliged to wait an hour and 
a half for the fog to pass off before the boat could attempt 



161 

the descent of the river. About eleven o'clock we passed a 
village church at some distance from the river, on fire, sup- 
posed to be occasioned by lightning, or perhaps from some 
cause connected with the celebrations of the day, which was 
observed as a great festival in this neighborhood. We reach- 
ed Passau, the frontier town of Bavaria, about two o'clock. 
It is situated at the junction of the rivers Inn and Ilz with the 
Danube, and is very strongly fortified. Below Passau, the 
right bank of the river is Austrian, the left Bavarian, as far as 
Engelhardzell, where we met the first Austrian Custom 
House, and where we observed a great number of those mise- 
rable, dwarfish, idiotic beings called Cretins, of which it w T ould 
seem there is a whole generation living at this place, who 
invariably present themselves to travellers asking alms. After 
passing this town, we met at almost every point on the river, 
and on every elevated position, the ruins of ancient castles oi* 
monasteries, or the almost obliterated marks of Roman works, 
erected whilst they held possession of this country. For 
nearly thirty miles below Passau the river runs between lofty 
hills of the most romantic appearance, clothed to the top with 
dark pines. The course of the river is most tortuous, and 
very frequently the stern of the vessel is directed to the oppo" 
site point of the compass from that towards which it had 
pointed a few minutes before. The beauty of this pass is 
considered to be unequalled, save by that of the Hudson 
through the Highlands, in the State of New-York. In one 
part of the river the sinuosities are so great that in the course 
of ten or twelve miles it flows towards all four points of the 
compass. Some way below this commences an archipelago 
of islands, and the channel of the river between them is so 
constantly changed by moving banks of sand and gravel as to 
render the navigation extremely difficult ; but before reaching 
the city of Linz, which we did about seven o'clock in the eve- 



158 A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 

ning, the Danube again appears to cut through a chain of 
mountains, which in some places extend to the waters edge 
in nearly vertical cliffs. Linz is beautifully situated, being 
nearly surrounded with lofty hills, which are fortified after a 
new plan, suggested by Prince Maximilian, of Este. Instead 
of a continuous wall, with bastions at intervals, these fortifi- 
cations consist of a series of isolated forts or towers, thirty- 
two in number, which surround the town upon the heights 
and along their slopes, and which communicate with each 
other by a covered way. Doubts are entertained by many 
experienced engineers of the efficiency of this mode of de- 
fence, and I hope it may be many years before there shall be 
any necessity for testing them. This town has a remarkably 
cleanly and neat appearance, and it being the time of one of 
their annual fairs, everything wore a lively and animated 
aspect. It numbers about twenty-five thousand inhabitants, 
and is the capitol of Upper Austria. 

I had hoped to have completed what I had to say upon 
this truly noble river, in this letter, but there are so many 
subjects of striking interest connected with its history, that my 
sheet is already full, and I must reserve any further remarks 
upon it until I reach Vienna, for which city we are to start 
to-morrow morning at seven o'clock. Till then adieu. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XXIV. 



VIENNA, August 19. 
Our departure from Linz, on Saturday morning, was again 
delayed for an hour by a thick fog which overhung the river. 
We did not start in consequence until eight o'clock. We had 



A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE, 159 

been travelling the two first days in steamers of a small size, 
belonging to a Bavarian company, but their route terminated 
at Linz, and we now found ourselves most comfortably accom- 
modated on board a fine new Austrian boat of one hundred 
and twenty horse power, built of iron, fitted up with all the 
conveniences of our North River boats, and having on board 
some hundred passengers of the first class, and a still greater 
number of the second class. Among those first named were 
the Baron Rothschild and family, of Paris, and some of the 
Russian, Austrian, and Hungarian families, who had been 
spending their summer, partly in London or Paris, at Baden- 
Baden, or other watering places, and were now wending their 
way homewards. 

The first part of the voyage from Linz is dull, the banks of 
the river being flat, and for some distance scarcely a place of 
note is passed. It is divided here, too, by willow-clad islands 
and beds of gravel, which are constantly shifting, and the 
result at one point in this part of the river is, that the village 
of Steyereck, which formerly was immediately upon its bank, 
is now a mile and a half from it. Nearly opposite to this 
village, the river Traun empties its green waters into the 
Danube, and flows on for some distance without intermingling 
with the muddy flood of the main river. A short distance 
from the mouth of this little river lies Ebersberg, the scene of 
a severe engagement between the French under Massena, and 
the Austrians under Hiller, in 1809. The bridge which 
crosses the river was defended by the latter with only thirty- 
five thousand men, against the whole French army, for a con 
siderable time, and after the passage was finally forced, the 
contest was obstinately continued in the village, from house 
to house, twelve thousand men having fallen in the action. 
The castle of Nieder Walsee is the first elevated object which 
attracts attention. It stands upon a rock, around which the 



160 

torrent rushes with great impetuosity. A little below this$ 
the river enters a very picturesque defile, in which it is con- 
tracted to one-fourth its width, and where it bursts violently 
through the granite chain of hills, presenting a scene not 
unlike that at Hurlgate, in the East River, near New-York. 
From this point there are three or four picturesque old castles 
in view at one moment. The ravine continues down the river 
for a considerable distance. At Rosenburg is a castle, which 
was a favorite summer retreat of the late Emperor Francis ; 
and below this the village of Marbech, above which stands the 
Pilo;rimao*e Church of Marie Tafert, which is resorted to annu- 

GO ' 

ally in the month of September, by great numbers of devo- 
tees, varying, it is stated, from sixty thousand to as many, in 
some years, as one hundred and thirty thousand. Still further 
down is the palace-like convent of Moth, which is half-way 
between Linz and Vienna. It stands upon a handsome pro- 
montory, about one hundred and fifty feet above the river, 
and the village near to it has a population of about one thou- 
sand. Everything about this monastery, which is of the 
Benedictine order, wears the appearance of comfort, and it is 
understood to be well endowed. There are ninety monks 
attached to it, the greater part of whom are now employed at 
a distance, fulfilling the duties of professors or ministers in 
universities or public schools. At the time of Bonaparte's 
invasion, from 1805 to 1809, heavy contributions were levied 
upon the monks, and their cellars are stated to have supplied 
the French army with fifty thousand pints of wine for several 
days in succession. 

The next object of interest below Moth is the castle of 
Aggstein, perched upon a high rock above the village of that 
name. It was once the stronghold of the robber knights, 
who laid all travellers upon the river under contribution, and 
even for a long time put the power of the young Duke of 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 161 

Austria, Frederick IT., at defiance. They were, however, at 
last overcome by stratagem, and the castle wrested from them. 
Still further down are to be seen the ruins of the castle of 
Durrenstein, now reduced to a mass of shattered masonry, 
with the exception of the square donjon-keep, and a portion of 
the walls which stretch from the 'top of the hill down to the 
water's edge. It was for a time the prison of Richard Cceur 
de Lion, It is situated upon the pinnacle, and at the ex- 
tremity of a long chain of hills, below which the Danube 
traverses an uninteresting plain nearly down to Vienna. The 
Austrians and Russians, under Kutusow, were defeated at the 
village of Durrenstein, by the French, under Mortier, in 1805, 
and the Austrian General, Schmidt, was killed in the battle. 
The steamboat stops at Nussdorf, three or four miles above 
Vienna, and the passengers are conveyed to the town in carri- 
ages. We reached our hotel in this city, the Archduke 
Charles, between five and six o'clock. 

Some of the tow-boats upon the river, of which there are 
a great number, are quite large, requiring ten or twelve horses 
to draw them up against the strong current. The small boats 
are, many of them, in shape, not unlike the canoes of the 
American Indians, and they are managed frequently by 
women, who paddle them with great dexterity, without 
changing the paddle from side to side. 

The day after our arrival in Vienna being Sunday, we 
availed ourselves of it to visit two or three of the principal 
churches, where we had an opportunity of listening to some 
of the most delightful and thrilling sacred music, both vocal 
and instrumental, which the world can produce. Austria has 
for a long time, and especially since the days of the great 
performer, Strauss, obtained a high repatation in this particu- 
lar science ; and we had previously been afforded at Venice, 
Baden-Baden, and elsewhere, opportunities of knowing to 
14 



162 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

what a high degree of perfection their military bands had 
arrived ; but this was the first time we had listened to their 
sacred music in any of their churches. The first we drove to 
was that of St. Augustine, which we found filled with a highly 
respectable congregation, a very large proportion of which 
were ladies ; but as this church is not so celebrated as that of 
the Minaret, for the excellence of its music, we shortly pro- 
ceeded to the latter, where we were gratified not only with 
the excellence of the music, but at the same time with a sight 
of the most beautiful mosaic which we have seen upon the 
Continent. It is a highly finished copy of that beautiful 
painting, the Lord's Supper, by Leonardo Davinci — and whilst 
listening to the one, with the eyes resting upon the other, the 
feelings excited were truly of an exalted and chastened cha- 
racter. From this church we proceeded to the royal chapel 
in the palace, where the Imperial family usually worship, a 
small but very richly decorated church. Here we had been 
told we should hear the best music, and we were not disap- 
pointed. We found the chapel filled with admiring listeners, 
and it was not without some difficulty that we made our way 
into it ; but we were well repaid for our trouble and exer- 
tions by the delightful strains which filled the sacred temple. 
It is here that a choir of the sweetest voices which can be pro- 
cured, are congregated, which, united with the rich tones of a 
powerful organ and a variety of other musical instruments, 
produced altogether upon the mind an effect not easily to be 
forgotten. After the close of this highly gratifying religious 
performance, we visited the largest church in the city, the 
Cathedral of St. Stephens, which seems to unite in itself all 
that is lofty, imposing, and sublime, in the Gothic style of 
architecture, although its dimensions are by no means equal 
to those of St. Peters' at Rome, and several other Cathedrals 
on the Continent. It was, until the seventeenth century, the 



163 

exclusive place of interment for the royal family, and con- 
tinues to be partially so up to the present time — now, the 
extraordinary practice prevails of interring their bowels in St. 
Stephens, and their hearts in the church of the St. Augus- 
tines, although their bodies are deposited in the vaults of the 
church of the Capuchins. The tomb of Prince Eugene is in 
the Cathedral. In the church of the Augustines is that beau- 
tiful work, both in design and execution, of Canova, the tomb 
of the Archduchess, Maria Christina of Saxe-Teschen, the 
daughter of Maria Theresa. It is indeed a wonderfully beau- 
tiful effort of genius, and it has been happily remarked by 
that pleasant tourist, Bayard Taylor, in his " Views Afoot," 
that Canova himself could not but have shed tears whilst 
executing it. There is in the same church, by the same great 
artist, a beautiful tomb erected in the death-chapel of the 
Emperor Leopold II. We afterwards, on Monday, visited the 
church of the Capuchins, under which, in its lofty and capa- 
cious vaults, rest the bodies of the members of the royal 
family, (with their fathers and children,) who have reigned 
and died within the last two or three hundred years. They 
are arranged somewhat in chronological order, — at least we 
were taken from room to room in that order to view them, by 
the priest who officiates on such occasions, — and his employ- 
ment would seem to be a busy one, for as soon as he ushered 
a party out from going the rounds, he took us in charge, to 
carry us through the same ceremony, and when he had per- 
formed this duty for us, another party was waiting in readi- 
ness to pass through a like ordeal. I have not often witnessed 
a scene so imposing and instructive as is presented to one 
passing through these vaults, filled with the exalted dead, 
who have, one after another, in their turns, wielded the sceptre 
of the empire, and then passed away from earth — some to be 
venerated in after times for their virtues, and for the blessings 



164 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

conferred upon their people, and others to be execrated or 
ridiculed for their tyranny or their follies. The elaborately 
ornamented coffins in which they are laid, are arranged in the 
different rooms with great order and regularity, and the varied 
and beautiful ornaments and decorations which surmount 
them are of the most imposing character. Maria Louisa, the 
wife of Napoleon, with her son, the Duke of Reichstadt, are 
placed side by side, amongst the most recent of the tenants 
of this last abode of royalty. 

Monday being the birth-day of the youthful Emperor, who 
three years since ascended the throne, and who attained the 
age of twenty-one on that day, a grand review of all the 
troops stationed in and around Vienna, was ordered to come 
off in the mornino*. Taking an earlv breakfast, we were upon 
the ground at half-past eight, and found the parade ground, 
one of the extensive and beautiful squares in the suburbs, 
covered with some fifteen or twenty thousand soldiers, all in 
rich and showy uniforms, thoroughly instructed and drilled in 
military tactics, and going through the various evolutions like 
clock work. We were not a little disappointed to learn that 
the Emperor would not be present to review them, as we were 
desirous of seeing him, and had therefore to content ourselves 
with a sight of the splendid array of generals who attended 
the commander-in-chief of the forces. Before the review 
commenced, there was an imposing religious service upon the 
field, in front of three or four large marquees, which seemed 
to have been placed conspicuously in front of the extended 
masses of soldiers for that purpose. It was accompanied at 
several stated periods by salvos of artillery. This over, the 
usual ceremonies attendant upon a review were gone through 
with, and by half-past ten o'clock the military pageant was 
over. Every soldier in the line had a small branch of the 
oak tree tastefully arranged in front of his cap, which, with 



165 

such a large body of men, had a strikingly uniform and plea- 
sing effect. The cavalry presented the most brilliant and 
imposing appearance on the field; mounted upon superb 
horses, their showy uniforms and brilliant trappings, united 
with the celerity of their movements, had a very fine effect. 
They were between two and three thousand strong. The 
artillery were without their field-pieces, carrying small arms. 
Many of the regiments of infantry were in blue, green, or 
brown uniforms. Of this number were some Hungarian, and 
one Croatian regiment — the latter in brown coats, and the 
men of uncommonly dark complexions. The city was illumi 
nated in the evening, in honor of the birth-day. 

After the review, we drove to the Royal Belvidere Picture 
Gallery, which contains some three thousand pictures, of the 
Italian, French, Venetian, Florentine, and modern schools of 
painting. There are some very good pictures in this collec- 
tion, both ancient and modern, but much the largest portion 
are of very moderate pretensions. In an adjoining apartment 
are some very fair specimens of modern statuary. The Impe- 
rial Coach House, under the Library, is a place generally 
visited by strangers. It contains a large collection of state 
carriages; amongst the number, that used at the coronations 
at Milan, Prague, &c. It is beautifully painted on the panels, 
and was made originally for Maria Theresa, whose state 
sledge, upon which she used to drive upon the Danube in 
winter, her sedan chair, and numerous other richly orna- 
mented carriages and sledges, are shown here. 

There are not probably in any city of Europe so many 
objects to which the attention of strangers is directed, as in 
Vienna ; but most of them are of secondary importance only, 
and as we had but three days to give to their inspection, some 
of them were necessarily omitted. Such of them, however, 
as were considered of importance, we visited. The environs 



166 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

of the city abound in the greatest variety of beautiful drives 
and walks, embowered in shady groves, and. ornamented with 
tastefully arranged paths. Of the number are the Bastions, 
formerly the fortifications surrounding the town, which have 
now been laid out as a public walk and drive ; the Glacis, 
between the town and the suburbs, with innumerable alleys 
of lime and chesnut trees ; the Prater, (the Hyde Park of 
Vienna,) a vast walk and drive of some miles in extent, in 
which are celebrated all the people's holidays, with alleys, 
thickly studded with trees, together with many other public 
and private gardens, most of which are ornamented with 
flowering trees, beautifully arranged, and nearly all, even the 
private establishments belonging to the nobility, are liberally 
thrown open to the public. 

Of the royal establishments, the summer palace at Schon- 
brunn, about three miles from the city, is the most celebrated 
and the most extensive. The walks are open at all times to 
the public, and on a Sunday afternoon, particularly, they are 
thronged with masses of citizens, with their wives and chil- 
dren, who repair to these beautiful walks and interminable 
shady groves, as a relief from the heat of the crowded streets 
of the city. The palace itself appears to have been construct- 
ed rather for comfort and convenience than for show, there 
being less of architectural display in its proportions than is to 
be found iu many of the numerous other palaces and public 
buildings with which the city and its environs abound — but 
in laying out and embellishing the grounds, no pains or ex- 
pense have been spared. Immediately in front of the palace 
there is a very large square, which is flanked on either side 
by dense masses of beautiful trees. From the centre of this 
square eight or ten avenues radiate, trimmed out in the old 
French style, forming regular arches, each of which extends 
as far as the eye can reach. These are again crossed in all 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 16? 

directions by paths, in which are fountains, statues, and flower 
beds ; and on that side of the square which fronts the palace 
in the distance, upon a gentle elevation, is a colossal group of 
marble statues, from which fountains flow into a capacious 
basin, filled with gold and other fish. Back of this group, 
and also fronting the palace upon a very elevated hill, there 
stands a lofty and most imposing marble temple, (the Glo- 
riette,) from the top of which a fine commanding view of the 
city and surrounding country can be obtained. The Duke of 
Reichstadt lived and died here, and it was here that the in- 
fatuated German student Stapps, who made an attempt upon 
the life of Napoleon, was shot and buried. 

Vienna itself (the Emperor's city, as it is called) has every 
appearance of life and activity, and in this respect is not 
unlike to Paris itself. Beautiful shops and streets, thronged 
with a busy and active population, remind you at every step 
of the capitol of France ; nor does the general mode of dress, 
either of ladies or gentlemen, differ from what is to be met 
with in Paris. In the number of its coffee-houses, and other 
places of similar public resort, it is quite equal to Paris, in 
proportion to its population, which is now estimated at 
450,000. The business traffic of the city is represented to 
be very great — its manufactures are principally fabrics of silk, 
and gold and silver jewelry. It is the residence, not only of 
the Imperial Court, but of great numbers of the nobility and 
wealthy citizens, whose luxurious mode of living, and lavish 
expenditure of money, necessarily give employment and im- 
part activity to the whole community. But, notwithstanding- 
all this, there is a restlessness and alarm existing in the minds 
of the government, which renders it suspicious and watchful 
of everything which is passing around them, and the surveil- 
ance of the police authorities is the most rigid and pene- 
trating. 



168 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

Whilst in Switzerland, we had heard of the arrest of an 
American citizen, Mr. Brace, of New-Haven, at some place 
on the Danube, not far from the frontiers of Turkey, who had 
been cast into prison; that the Charge d'Affaires of the 
United States at Vienna, had interposed for his liberation, 
bnt we had not heard of the result of his application. 
Anxious to learn something more of this matter, immedi- 
ately after our arrival here we waited upon the representative 
of our country, Mr. M'Curdy, and were not a little gratified 
to learn that Mr. Brace had been released from his confine- 
ment, and was now on his way home to America. As you 
will have heard all the particulars of his case long before this 
letter will reach you, it is quite unnecessary for me to reca- 
pitulate them ; but it would seem that he was entirely inno- 
cent of any attempt to interfere in the political concerns of 
the country, and that his only offence was that of sympathy 
for the oppressions under which the Hungarians have been 
suffering, which he entertained in common w T ith the rest of 
his countrymen, and that he had accepted of the attentions 
and hospitalities of many of the respectable inhabitants of 
that ill-fated and oppressed country. 

In conversation with a Hungarian gentleman on board the 
steamer, on our way down the Danube, we learned that there 
was a most anxious desire on the part of a great many Hun- 
garian families who are in independent circumstances, to 
emigrate to the United States, and that nothing but an un- 
willingness to give up their father-land restrained them from 
carrying this desire into execution. At the present moment 
he said things at home looked a little brighter, but unless 
a more lenient course was pursued towards them, great num- 
bers would inevitably quit the country. And we learn from 
Mr. M'Curdy, that application has recently been made to 
him, on the part of three hundred Hungarian families, for his 



169 



advice as to the best mode for them to adopt in getting to 
America, for which they propose to embark in the month of 
March next. They have been in correspondence with some 
of their countrymen already settled in the new state of Iowa, 
and it is their purpose to join them. 

Of the financial concerns of this country I have no very 
certain means of judging, but should infer from the wretched 
currency in general circulation, that their exchequer must be 
at a low ebb, everything being paid for, even to the smallest 
amount, in dingy looking bills. 

Of all the objects of interest in Vienna, however, one 
which we visited to-day is the most magnificent of its kind 
that we have any where seen. In Genoa and in Munich, we 
have walked through the hails of palaces which we supposed 
to be so very rich and beautiful that they could not be sur- 
passed, but the palace of the Prince of Leichtenstein, which 
we obtained permission to inspect to-day, goes far beyond all 
others. It was originally built, one hundred and eighty 
years ago, by an ancestor of the present proprietor, but had 
been for twenty years during the present century occupied 
by the Russian Ambassador. It has since been thoroughly 
renovated, and newly furnished throughout, at a cost, as is 
stated, of four millions of florins. (An Austrian florin is 
about forty cents.) It contains two hundred rooms. We 
inspected about fifteen of the principal ones, all very lofty 
and of uniform height. They are finished throughout in 
white and gold, in the richest possible manner, and the furni- 
ture is of the most brilliant and costly description. Ten 
years have been occupied in the renovation. The revenue of 
the prince is very large, having extensive estates in various 
parts of the empire. He is fifty years of age, we are told, 
and has a family of ten children, only one of which is a son, 
now ten years old. 
15 



170 a summer's TOUR IN EUROPE. 

We visited, also, this afternoon, the Imperial Arsenal, con- 
taining one of the richest and most extensive armories in the 
world. The enormous chain of eight thousand links, which 
the Turks threw across the Danube, near Ofen, for the pur- 
pose of interrupting the navigation of the river in 1529, is 
hanging in festoons around the yard within. The ground 
floor is occupied with a great variety of cannon of various 
ages and countries, taken in the wars of the empire. The 
upper rooms, which are of great extent, contain, according to 
the estimate, one hundred and fifty thousand stand of arms ; 
sixty thousand are new, having been manufactured within the 
last three years, which are most tastefully arranged and dis- 
posed in figures, with much ingenuity, representing a great 
variety of objects, and all of which are in readiness for im- 
mediate use. In the attempted revolution of 1848, this 
arsenal fell into the hands of the people, who rifled it of 
every weapon fit for use ; but as they were soon overcome, 
nearly all the arms were recovered again, the penalty of 
death being inflicted upon any one afterwards found in pos- 
sion of any warlike weapon, whether taken from the arsenal 
or not ; and the arrangement of the whole is now said to be 
quite as perfect as it ever w T as. There is in the collection an 
immense number of ancient weapons of every possible de- 
scription, and of various dates, together with numerous suits 
of ancient armor, actually worn by illustrious persons in 
remote ages, amongst which are the buff coat of elk-skin 
worn by the great Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Lut- 
zen, pierced by the bullet which caused his death ; the field- 
marshal's uniform of Prince Schwartzenberg ; Marlborough's 
arms ; the dress of Prince Eugene, together with a lock of 
his hair carefully preserved ; the balloon used by the French 
Marshal, Jourdan, to reconnoitre the Austrian army, previous 
to the battle of Fleurus ; and numerous standards taken by 



A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 1?1 

the Austrians during the wars in which they have been en* 
gaged, one hundred of which are French, together with a 
number of Imperial Eagles. Amongst the standards are 
several taken in the campaign of 1848 from the King of 
Sardinia, the Roman volunteers, and others engaged in the 
attempt at that time to liberate Italy. Some of the trophies 
exhibited go back to the time of the Crusades, and others 
were acquired in their various wars against the Turks. Also, 
the green standard of Mahomet, captured in 1683, in the 
memorable battle gained by John Sobieski, which broke up 
the siege of Vienna. 

Having thus finished up all the sight-seeing which we 
could accomplish in the three days we had to give to Vienna, 
we shall leave to-morrow for Prague, Dresden, and Berlin. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XXV 



DRESDEN, August, 23. 
The distance by railroad from Vienna to Prague is about 
two hundred and fifty English miles, which is performed in 
thirteen hours. Immediately after leaving Vienna and the 
Danube, you enter upon a widely -extended plain, which con- 
tinues without the slightest elevation or depression to Brunn 
— -a distance of more than ninety miles. This extensive 
plain, although well-cultivated, presents rather a dreary 
aspect, having no dividing lines, either fences or hedges, and 
almost destitute of trees of any description, the farmers liv- 
ing in detached villages, some miles from each other. One of 
the first stations after leaving Vienna, stands upon the blood- 



172 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

stained field of Wagram — the scene of one of Napoleon's 
most desperate battles with the Austrians. Passing on for 
fifty miles, the road branches at Lundenberg — one line run- 
ning by Olmutz, the other by Brunn. The name of Olmutz 
calls to mind the circumstance of its having been the fortress 
where Lafayette, the early and devoted friend of American 
liberty, was imprisoned, and the bold but unfortunately un- 
successful attempt to liberate him, made by a distinguished 
citizen of South Carolina, Col. Francis Huger, with his friend, 
Dr. Bollraan. Brunn, the principal place upon the route, is 
the capitol of Moravia, and has a population of forty thou- 
sand, which has been mostly accumulated during the present 
century, it having risen into importance during that time by 
the introduction of woolen manufactures, in which it has 
been peculiarly successful, so much so as to have acquired 
the appellation of the Leeds of Austria. It is built partly in 
a pretty valley, watered by two small rivers, the Schwarza 
and Zwittawa, and partly on the slope of a range of hills 
which here sink down to the plain. On one of these hills 
is the castle of Speilberg, which has been converted into a 
prison, in which Silvio Pellico was shut up for eight years ; 
in wdiich Baron Trenk, whose history is so familiar to the 
school-boys of former years, ended his days ; and where Gen. 
Mack was confined for some time for his supposed treachery 
in the surrender of Ulm to the French, but from which he 
was at length released by the Emperor of Austria, who be- 
came convinced at last that the disaster had not arisen from 
treachery on his part, but from incompetence. The stranger 
will seek here or elsewhere in Moravia, in vain, we are told, 
for the sect called " Moravian Brethren," as they have never 
existed here in numbers. About twelve miles from Brunn, 
towards the Olmutz road, lies the fatal battle-field of Aus- 
terlitz, the scene of Napoleon's great victory over the 



A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 



173 



Emperors of Austria and Russia, and which has been called 
by some the battle of the three emperors. The forces of the 
combined emperors exceeded those of Napoleon, yet he took 
from them twenty thousand prisoners, with forty pieces of 
cannon, and standards without number. The French bulle- 
tin, announcing the victory, mentions a lake in which twenty- 
two thousand Russians were drowned ; and although nothing 
of the sort exists in the summer, the marshy country is 
flooded in the winter, and, at the time the battle was fought 
(2d Dec, 1805), the water was frozen over; and Napoleon, 
seizing the moment when the Russians were crossing the ice, 
turned his artillery upon it, breaking it up, and thus sending 
the hostile force to perdition. Very soon after leaving 
Brunn, the road passes through a succession of rocky hills, 
making its way along the banks of a small river, whose 
course is very crooked, which rendered it necessary to cut a 
succession of small tunnels through the projecting spurs of 
rock in order to overcome the numerous sharp turns of the 
river. After three or four miles, the difficulties of this pass 
are overcome — the road again emerges into a level country, 
which continues with little variation until it nearly reaches 
the city of Prague, the capitol of Bohemia, which lies upon 
both banks of the river Moldau, surrounded by rocks or 
eminences, upon whose slopes the buildings of the town rise, 
tier above tier, as they recede from the river. The two 
divisions of the city are connected by a very massy hand- 
some stone bridge, which is here considered to be the largest 
and finest in Germany ; but this is contested by the people 
of Dresden, who contend that the bridge over the Elbe, con- 
necting the two divisions of their city, is superior to it. The 
history of Prague (or as it is called by the Germans, Prag, 
or Praga) is full of incidents of stirring interest in ancient 
history, and its public edifices have been the scenes of the 



174 

most savage cruelties, particularly the old Rathhaus, out of 
the windows of which the burgomasters, and a number of the 
senators, were, on one occasion, thrown ; and in the dungeons 
below which the Emperor Wenzel was imprisoned for many 
weeks ; and in front of which, on another occasion (in 1621), 
twenty-seven of the principal magistrates of the city were 
executed, including nobles and counsellors, together with a 
host of inferior persons. The city was, at this period, the 
scene of the most unrelenting persecution and bloodshed, 
arising out of the religious wars which prevailed, each party 
in its turn, as they acquired power, satiating their revenge 
upon their adversaries. The palace of Wallenstein is one of 
a cluster of extensive residences of the Bohemian monarchs 
and magnates, situated upon and at the foot of the Hrad- 
schin ; and it is recorded that one hundred houses were pur- 
chased and taken down, in order to make room for this 
separate palace. Eye-witnesses who visited it in the life- 
time of its owner, have left behind a surprising account of 
its regal splendor, but it is now in a very neglected condition. 
We had a very fine view of the city, looking down upon it 
from a balcony in front of the palace. But the most inte- 
resting objects in Prague, in the opinion of travellers, at the 
present time, are the old Jewish Burial Ground and the 
oldest Synagogue — the latter built early in the twelfth cen- 
tury. 

The former is a very large inclosure in the middle of what 
is termed the Jewish city, filled up with the dead of centu- 
ries. It is no longer used, as it will hold no more, and is 
literally covered with grave-stones. The last person was 
interred about one hundred years ago. Many of the grave- 
stones bear the symbols of the tribes to which the dead 
belonged ; thus, a pitcher marks Levi, the joined hands the 
descendants of Aaron. The monuments are generally rough 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 1*75 

sand-stone, covered with Hebrew characters, deeply cut in. 
Within the inclosure is a vestry-house, in which the burial 
ceremonies are performed over the dead. Grave clothes are 
kept in readiness here ; and as soon as a corpse is brought 
in, be it of the rich or poor, it is set out in the same simple 
livery, and the same simple coffin of white boards is pro- 
vided for all. The old Synagogue is most remarkable for its 
antiquity. The dust of ages remain undisturbed around it ; 
and except for unavoidable repairs, no change has been made 
in the building for centuries. The holy books of the law of 
Moses occupy the place where the altar stands in the church. 
They are inclosed in a fire-proof cabinet of metal, and con- 
sist of double rolls of parchments. The robes and breast- 
plates of the priests, and the m hangings for this cabinet, 
embroidered with pomegranates and hung with bells, are 
curious, though very dingy in appearance. This Synagogue 
is now used only on very solemn occasions, there being 
another larger and more modern. The far-famed battle of 
Prague, gained by Frederick the Great, about one hundred 
years since, in the Seven Years' War, was fought upon a plain 
about three miles east of the town. A monument is still 
standing in the open fields, erected to the memory of General 
Schwerin, the favorite of Frederick, who fell in this action. 

The distance from Prague to this city is about one hun- 
dred miles. We met with a party of Charleston acquaint- 
ances just before we started, who had come up the Elbe by 
steamer, from Dresden, as far as Ausig, to which place the 
boats now run ; and they were so much pleased with the 
picturesque beauty of the scenery upon the river, particularly 
with that part of it which runs through what is called Saxon- 
Switzerland, that we were prepared, from their description, to 
enjoy it very much ; and we were not disappointed. There 
is very little to interest the traveller upon the road until he 



1*76 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

reaches the Elbe, when it continues along its left bank, 
almost without interruption, until it reaches Dresden. The 
most beautiful part of the scenery, however, is comprised 
within a space of between thirty and forty miles. 

The term applied to it of "Saxon-Switzerland," is not con- 
sidered to be entirely appropriate, as it has none of the 
glaciers, or snows, or lofty serrated ridges of that country ; 
but it has, nevertheless, picturesque views, the sublimity and 
beauty of which are seldom to be met with elsewhere than in 
Switzerland. Parts of it resemble very much the bold and 
perpendicular walls of rock, the palisades on the North 
Eiver. One of the greatest beauties of the scene, is the neat 
houses and cottages which are eve ry where nestled under 
those perpendicular precipices, where space can be obtained 
for the purpose, and the air of comfort and industry which 
everywhere pervades them. In the midst of this highly 
picturesque scene, on the left bank of the river, stands the 
fortress of Konigstein, almost the only one in Europe which 
has never been taken. It rises nearly eight hundred feet 
above the river, and is so completely isolated and surrounded 
on all sides by natural and artificial advantages, as to render 
it impregnable. The still higher heights of Lilienstein, on 
the opposite side of the river, being three thousand yards 
distant, cannot command it. Napoleon endeavored to batter 
it from this point, but after raising three pieces of cannon 
with great difficulty to the summit, he found that the balls 
fell short of their mark. This latter elevation, which com- 
mands a most extensive view of all the surrounding beauties 
of the scene, can be ascended by the aid of steps which have 
been cut in the rocks, and asrial bridges and ladders ; and it 
is daily, in summer, the resort of parties who take up their 
quarters in the neighborhood, for the purpose of exploring 
the different available points of this romantic region. The 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 177 

fortress of Konigstein is the refuge to which the royal family 
resort for the safety of their valuables, in times of war or 
domestic commotion ; and in 1848, when the people here, as 
in most others of the cities of Germany, rose against their 
rulers, and for a time had possession of Dresden, the price- 
less collection of pearls, precious stones, and other portable 
works of art, were conveyed there for security. For ten 
miles before reaching the city, the railroad passes over a fine 
level plain, upon which Dresden is situated ; and it is sur- 
roundpd on all sides by handsome drives, and quiet shady 
walks, which are the resort in pleasant weather of the entire 
population of the city, for air and recreation. ISTo stranger 
should leave Dresden without visiting these beautiful rural 
resorts, which are of easy access in every direction, being im- 
mediately without the compactly-built portions of the town. 

Dresden, which is the capitol of the kingdom of Saxony, 
lies upon both banks of the river Elbe, which are connected 
by a beautiful stone bridge five hundred and fifty-two yards 
long. It has a population of ninety thousand. The streets 
are wide and kept in admirable order. The houses many of 
them six and seven stories in height, and everything in the 
city has the imprint of order and cleanliness. 

The objects of greatest interest to the stranger are what 
is termed the " Green Vaults " in the royal palace, which 
contain the crown jewels, and a very large collection of pre- 
cious ornaments ; and the Royal Picture Gallery. Admission 
to the former is only obtained by special application for 
tickets, which are obtained for a party at a cost of two or 
three dollars. They are contained in eight separate rooms, 
to which the singular name of the " Green Vaults" is given 
— for what reason we did not learn. The collection is con- 
sidered to be the largest in the possession of any of the 
crowned heads in Europe, although there are in the Tower 



178 

of London, and in the Palace at St. Petersburg, a larger 
diamond than is contained in this collection ; yet the great 
variety of diamonds and precious stones included in this col- 
lection, far exceeds all others. They have been newly ar- 
ranged within the last year, when they were brought back 
from the fortress of Konigstein, where they had been sent 
for safe keeping. They occupy eight rooms, and comprise 
almost every shape, curious and unique, into which diamonds 
and precious stones could be made up. The officer of the 
palace who attends visitors through these rooms, describes 
with much minuteness everything which they contain, in the 
language which may chance to be best understood by the 
party whom he may have in charge, which is never allowed 
to exceed six in number. The great extent and value of this 
princely collection is attributed to the circumstance of the 
Saxon princes having been not only more powerful in former 
times than at present, but possessing, as they formerly did, 
an immense source of wealth in the silver mines of Freiburg, 
which they expended in the purchase of all kinds of rare ob- 
jects, such as jewels and exquisite carvings in the precious 
metals, and other costly materials. 

The Picture Gallery stands upon the public square called 
the New-Market ; it is open to the public every day gratis, 
and is usually thronged with admiring visitors. This gallery 
holds the front rank of any in Dresden, of which there are 
several, and taken as a whole is pronounced to be the first to 
be found in Germany. Amongst the most valuable pictures 
contained in it are those of Correggio and Raphael of the 
Italian school, and of Van Dyke, Rubens, Teniers, Rem- 
brandt, and others of the German and French schools. Of 
the former are the celebrated pictures of Da Notte (the 
Night), by Correggio, and the Madonna di San Sixio, by 
Raphael, which latter is pronounced to be scarcely surpassed 



179 



by any work of his existing in Italy, and equalled by none 
out of it. There is also in this collection one of Murillo's 
Madonnas, which is much admired, as are, indeed, all the 
gems of that celebrated Spanish artist. 

The Z winger, an extensive building erected in 1711, and 
intended as a vestibule to a new and magnificent palace, and 
which contained the Historical Museum — one of the finest 
collections of the kind in Europe — is now in ruins, it having 
been sacked and burnt by the revolutionists in 1848, when all 
of its curious and valuable contents were given to the flames 
— the bare walls, with the mutilated marble statues which 
adorned the edifice, alone remaining. Numerous workmen, 
however, are again at work upon the palace ; and if it should 
not again be assailed and desecrated by a ruthless mob, bids 
fair to rise in renewed beauty, like the Phoenix, from its ashes. 

In the vicinity of this palace a new theatre has been 
recently erected, which holds seventeen hundred persons, and 
is both within and without one of the handsomest in Ger- 
many. Mademoiselle Rachel, from Paris, is now performing 
here. She appeared last night in one of Dumas's new 
comedies. About a mile from the town, amidst fields and 
slopes, which were the " scenes of the combats and bombard- 
ment preceding the retreat of the French to Leipsic," is the 
monument of Moreau, erected upon the spot where he 
received his mortal wound. His two legs, which were sepa- 
rated from his body by a cannon ball, are buried here, but 
the body was conveyed to St. Petersburg. The inscription 
over the monument says : " Moreau, the hero, fell here, by 
the side of Alexander, 27th August, 1813." 

Dresden contains numerous other objects which are con- 
sidered worthy the notice of travellers, but we have not time 
to visit all of them. Yours, &c, 

A Traveller. 



180 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



LETTER XXVI 



BERLIN, August 27. 
Leaving Dresden at half-past three o'clock in the after- 
noon of the 23d instant, we reached this city at half-past nine, 
performing the distance, one hundred and seventeen miles, in 
six hours — the road extending the whole distance over what 
we should call a sandy pine-barren, the soil being so thin as 
to yield but a very indifferent return to the husbandman for 
his labor, and a large portion of the land is covered with a 
dense growth of small pine trees, some twenty feet in height. 
Villages are scattered along the route at very considerable 
distances apart, and the people everywhere have the appear- 
ance of a hard-working industrious race, the women being 
engaged in the most laborious employments, not only in the 
fields, but upon the rail roads, using the pick, the spade, and 
the wheelbarrow, with as much dexterity as the men. Wind- 
mills for grinding wheat are to be seen upon the widely ex- 
tended plains in considerable numbers. Some eight miles 
before reaching Berlin, we pass the battle-field of Gross 
Beeren, where, on the 23d and 24th of August, 1813, Gen. 
Bulow encountered and gained a decided advantage over the 
French General, Oudinot, which was followed up on the 6th 
of September, by the same General, at Donnewitz, where he 
gave battle to the French army under Marshal Ney and Gen. 
Oudinot, taking ten thousand prisoners. These battles were, 
however, but the prelude to the great and decisive battles of 
Leipsic, which lasted for three days, the 1*7 th, 18th, and 19th 
of October, the operations of which extended for ten miles on 
all sides of that city, and the result of which was the utter 
overthrow of the power of Napoleon. The anniversaries of 
these battles are observed here with much enthusiasm, par- 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 181 

ticularly those fought by the Prussian troops single-handed 
against the French. The scenes of the campaign of 1813, in 
Germany, which ended by the allies entering Paris, were 
nearly the same as those of the campaign of 1806, when Na- 
poleon's star was in the ascendant, and when he triumphant- 
ly entered Vienna, carrying everything before him. 

Berlin, the capitol of Prussia, is situated upon a sandy 
plain, through which passes the river Spree, a small sluggish 
stream, but which, by means of canals, communicates with 
the Oder and the Baltic on the one hand, and with the Elbe 
and German Ocean on the other. The population, which is 
constantly on the increase, is now estimated at three hundred 
and fifty thousand. It is the residence of the Court, and has 
a permanent garrison of ten thousand well disciplined troops, 
while the whole regular army of the kingdom numbers two 
hundred thousand, and the organized militia three hundred 
thousand more, thus furnishing a military force of five hun- 
dred thousand effective men. Berlin is quite a Protestant 
city, there being but one Catholic church in it. Placed as 
the city is, upon a dreary sandy plain, it is a matter of sur- 
prise that it should have risen to the size and importance 
which it has ; but the spirit infused into it by Frederick, who 
early determined that it should become a large city, and who 
laid the foundations for its success, seems still to exist, and 
notwithstanding the many disadvantages under which it has 
labored, its course is onward. The principal street, the Unter 
der Linden, named from a double line of Lime trees, which 
form a shady walk in the centre, while on each side of it runs 
a wide carriage road, is considered by some to be the finest in 
Europe. At one extremity of it is the Royal Palace, and at 
the other the Brandenburg Gate, the great architectural orna- 
ment of the city, built after the model of the Propylsea at 
Athens, and supposed to be the most splendid portal in 



182 JL SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

Europe. The car of Victory upon the top of it was carried to 
Paris by Napoleon, but was recovered and brought back by 
the Prussians after the battle of Waterloo. There are, also, 
upon this wide and magnificent avenue, and in the immediate 
vicinity of the palace, a number of the public buildings, com- 
bining with their great extent, much architectural beauty, 
amongst which are the University, the Grand Guard House, 
the Museum, the Opera House, and several others, besides 
numerous private mansions and extensive hotels. And there 
has been recently added to these, fronting towards the palace, 
at the termination of the rows of Linden trees, the colossal 
bronze statue of Frederick the Great, by the eminent Prussian 
sculptor, Rauch. This great work, which had been for several 
years in preparation, was finally completed and opened to the 
public, with a most imposing ceremony, in which the King 
and all the Ministers of State took part, in the month of May 
last. It is, beyond question, the most imposing, chaste, and 
beautiful monument of the kind now in existence. The horse 
upon which " Old Fritz," as he is termed, is mounted, is six- 
teen feet high, standing upon a lofty bronze pedestal, at the 
corners of which are equestrian statues of four of his ablest 
generals, as large as life — the intermediate spaces being filled 
up with groups of his other comrades in arms ; the whole 
placed upon a massy foundation of highly polished granite, 
and to be surrounded by a handsomely ornamented bronze 
fence. On either side of this square, and at a short distance 
from this most imposing monument, are statues of the two 
most distinguished Prussian generals of the " war of libera- 
tion " — Blucher and Bulow. 

A visit of but three or four days in Berlin, does not afford 
an opportunity of seeing all the objects of curiosity and inter- 
est which it contains, but we have employed our short time in 
visiting such of them as were within our reach. Strangers 



A SUMMER^ TOUR IN EUROPE. 183 

are told that they must not fail to see Potsdam before their 
departure, and one of our first excursions was therefore made 
to this town of palaces, as it has not inappropriately been 
termed. It is about eighteen or twenty miles from this city, 
and you reach it by railway in forty minutes. It is very ad- 
vantageously situated upon the Havel, a river which is here 
expanded into a lake. The town has a population of thirty- 
five thousand, but has nothing of a business-like appearance, 
and one is at a loss to know what supports such a number of 
inhabitants. It was the favorite summer residence of Frede- 
rick the Great, and the four palaces which have been erected 
here, and which, with their extensive avenues and walks, 
cover a very great extent of ground, owe their existence in a 
great degree to him. The new palace, as it is called, about 
two miles from the town, was built by Frederick, immediate- 
ly after the Seven Years' War, in order, as he said, to con- 
vince his enemies that the war had not exhausted all his 
finances. It is of great extent, built of brick, and contains 
two hundred rooms, some of which are very large. The 
palace and gardens of Sans Souci, which are near the new 
palace, and appear as an appendage to it, stand upon an arti- 
ficial elevation, resembling in some measure the site of the 
palace at Versailles. It was here that Voltaire used to pay 
his annual visit to the king, and the palace contains various 
objects and reminiscences of these two extraordinary charac- 
ters, in their familiar intercourse, whilst residing together 
under the same roof. The famous wind mill which stands 
immediately adjoining the Sans Souci, is still in active opera- 
tion. When the palace was built, Frederick wished to buy 
the mill, in order to pull it down, but the proprietor would 
not sell it to him, and the monarch endeavored to eject the 
owner by process of law. Failing in this, and admiring, as 
he no doubt did, the independent spirit of the miller, he 



184 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE* 

thereupon built for him in its place a much improved mill) 
leaving him and his heirs in quiet possession of it. Subse- 
quently, and during the lifetime of the late king, the owner 
became embarrassed, and to relieve himself offered to sell it 
to him, but the king refusing to take advantage of his neces- 
sities, generously settled upon him an amount sufficient to 
extricate him from his difficulties, and enable him to maintain 
himself in his property, saying that the mill now belonged to 
Prussian history, and was in a manner a national monument. 
In this palace there are preserved with great care numerous 
articles of domestic use, together with the clothes, hats, &c, 
worn by Frederick the Great — some of them up to the day 
of his death, together with the chair in which he died, and 
the clock which he was accustomed to wind up himself, but 
which he forgot to do the morning of the day on which he 
died, and which stopped at the moment of his death ; all of 
which are viewed with great reverence by the people of the 
present day. Within the garden of Sans Souci there has 
been erected by the present king, a Pompeian dwelling, fol- 
lowing as nearly as possible the arrangement and dimensions 
of some of the houses of Pompeii, in which much taste and 
elegance has been displayed. In returning from Potsdam in 
the afternoon, we had in the cars with us the venerable travel- 
ler and philosopher, the Baron Alexander Von Humboldt, 
who was born and still resides at that place ; and it was plea- 
sant to observe, that although now eighty-three or eighty -four 
years of age, he still walks with a firm step, and has all the 
appearance of being in the enjoyment of good health. He 
was on his way up to Berlin, as we were told, to dine with 
Prince Charles, one of the brothers of the king, the Baron 
being a great favorite with all the members of the royal fami- 
ly. The present king and queen are represented as being 
extremely plain and simple in their mode of living, occupying 



185 

generally the smallest apartments in their palaces, adopting 
the plainest attire, excepting when at Court, and mixing very 
freely and unceremoniously with the people. In one of their 
palaces, that at Charlottenberg, three or four miles from the 
city, we were shown into apartments where they had been 
residing but a few days previously, in which the wash basins, 
pitchers, <fcc, were of the plainest white Liverpool crockery, 
and everything else about the apartments in keeping with 
them. Whether this is dictated by an innate love of sim- 
plicity, or by an affectation of it, it might be rather difficult to 
decide. This palace was built by Frederick I., who married 
the Princess Charlotte, daughter of George I., of England, 
and her taste seems to have prevailed in ail its furniture and 
decorations, for they have a decidedly English look. The 
walks and gardens at this palace are exceedingly pretty, are 
at all times open to the public, and much resorted to during 
the summer season. The object of greatest attraction here, is 
the monument of Louisa, Queen of Prussia, by Ranch. She 
is buried in a small dome or temple at the extremity of a shady 
walk, in a retired part of the garden. This monument is 
universally allowed to be the master-piece of this eminent 
sculptor, and is not thought to be surpassed in excellence by 
any modern work of art. The figure of the queen reposes on 
a marble sarcophagus — the form and face of the most exqui- 
site beauty, but at the same time a most perfect resemblance. 
" The expression is not that of dull cold death, but of undis- 
turbed repose." 

The royal palace in the city is of vast size and extent, and 
is sumptuously furnished. In the Knight's Hall, a splendid 
apartment, is the throne, and a sideboard covered with mas- 
sive old plate of gold and silver. But the most interesting 
rooms in it are those which were occupied by Frederick the 
Great, and which contain many relics of the old soldier. 
16 



186 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

In another part of the palace is the Chamber of Art, contain- 
ing an extensive collection of objects well worth seeing, and 
some of which are peculiarly national. Of this number, one 
is a cast, taken after death, from the face of Frederick the 
Great ; the bullet which wounded him in the battle of Rass- 
bach, 1760; the very uniform he wore on the day of his 
death, his books and walking cane, and his favorite flute, his 
solace in times of relaxation ; and there are also in this part of 
the palace Baron Trenk's drinking cup, engraved by him 
while in prison, and Martin Luther's beer jug, of very capa- 
cious dimensions. 

We visited, about a mile and a half from the city, a small 
elevation or sand hill, partly artificial and partly natural, called 
the Kreutzberg, which commands a tolerable view of the city. 
It is named, from a Gothic cross of cast iron upon its summit, 
Volks Deukmal, (People's Monument;) it was erected by 
the late king as a memorial of Prussia's recovery of independ- 
ence from the French, and is thus happily described — " The 
king to his people, who, at his call, nobly offered life and 
property to their country ; a monument to the fallen ; an ac- 
knowledgment to the living ; an example to posterity." It 
has the statues of Prussian warriors in the niches, and the 
bas-relief represents the principal victories gained by the 
Prussians. The whole was cast in the Royal Iron Foundry, 
where the art of iron casting has been brought to the highest 
degree of perfection. Whilst looking at and admiring this 
monument, we were invited by an old veteran, with a wooden 
leg, to walk in and see the interior of it. He told us that he 
had been engaged in most of the battles represented upon the 
monument, and that he lost his leg in the last great battle at 
Leipsic. Seeing that we took an interest in the subject, he 
became quite animated, and seemed quite disposed to " fight 
his battles o'er again," if we could have spared the time to 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 187 

listen to him. Upon the slope of this eminence, is Tivoli, a 
sort of Vauxhall Garden, where various amusements are to 
be witnessed, and where crowds resort in summer to listen to 
the music and partake of refreshments. 

The University, of which the city may well be proud, is in 
very high repute. Its students now number about two thou- 
sand, comprising young men from all quarters of the world, 
of every nation and of every christian sect. Of this number 
several are from our own State. The College buildings are 
very handsome and imposing, occupying a commanding posi- 
tion near the palace, and the other great national establish- 
ments, having shady walks in the rear, and the beautiful 
street, the Unter der Linden, in front. Amongst the profes- 
sors are some of the ablest men and ripest scholars in Ger- 
many. 

One of our last visits was made to the new Museum, which 
was completed in the year 1830. Before its entrance is the 
gigantic polished marble basin, twenty-two feet in diameter, 
which was formed out of an insolated boulder which lay at 
Furstenwald, nearly thirty miles from Berlin. The apart- 
ments in the Museum are variously divided, a certain portion 
of the rooms being appropriated as a Picture Gallery, others 
for sculpture, bronzes, carvings in ivory and wood, &c, but 
the most complete and interesting of its kind is that portion 
of the extensive range of buildings dedicated to works of art 
and antiquities from Egypt. This collection is the most per- 
fect and complete of anything of the kind in Europe, for which 
they are indebted in a great measure to the celebrated travel- 
ler, Professor Lepsius, who, during his travels in Egypt, pos- 
sessed very superior advantages in the attainment of these 
objects, and who has displayed great taste and judgment in 
their arrangement. 

Last evening the beautiful new Opera House was crowded 



188 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

to witness the debut of another " Swedish Nightingale," re- 
ported to be second only to Jenny Land. The opera was 
"Robert der Teufel," and the new prima donna Mademoiselle 
Babbnigg, from the Theatre Royal at Stockholm. She is, 
however, a native of Dresden. Her singing did not equal the 
high expectations which had been raised of her powers, but 
was, nevertheless, very pleasing and effective. The ballet, 
which was introduced in the course of the opera, was very 
good, the dresses, decorations, &c, extremely well got up. 

To-morrow morning we shall again turn our faces towards 
the Rhine, taking the route by Frankfort, to Wies-Baden, &c. 

A Traveller. 



LETTER XXVII. 



FRANKFORT, (on the Maine,) August 30. 
The journey from Berlin to this place, a distance of about 
four hundred miles, is performed entirely by rail road, with 
the exception of about ten miles, a short distance from here. 
The first forty miles of this route to Jntenburgh, is on the 
road to Dresden, over which we were retracing our steps, 
having passed it on our way to Berlin ; but here the road 
diverges towards Halle. At Wittenberg, a fortified town on 
the south side of the Elbe, we again cross that river. It has a 
population of seven thousand, and was considered as the cra- 
dle of the Reformation, as it was here that Luther first com- 
menced his crusade, by preaching openly against the Church 
of Rome. The town, now reduced to a dull and lifeless for- 
tress, is only interesting from its historical associations. It 
was taken from the French, by storm, in 1814, after a siege 
of nine months, during which the suburbs were laid in ruins. 
Luther, and his friend Melancthon, were both buried here, 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 189 

and numerous relics of the former are still preserved with 
pious care by the descendants of his followers. The next 
town reached is Dessau, capitol of the Dukedom of Anhalt 
Dessau. It has a population of ten thousand, situated on the 
Mulda, a river which enters the Elbe a little below the town. 
The vicinity of this town — originally a sandy waste — has been 
converted into gardens, which form its chief ornament. Co- 
then, a town of six thousand inhabitants, a little farther on, is 
the station where several lines of rail roads meet, and is the 
residence of the Duke of Anhalt. Here, and at Halle, we 
find ourselves in the vicinity of the great battle-fields of Frede- 
rick the Great, about the middle of the seventeenth century, 
and of Napoleon in the early part of the present. Halle has 
a population of twenty-seven thousand, is situated upon the 
Saale, and is principally remarkable for its University, which 
has an average number of twelve hundred students, and is 
especially renowned as a school of Protestant Theology. Its 
name, Halle, is derived from the Salt Springs in its vicinity, 
which have been known from very remote times, and the 
usual product of which is 220,000 cwt. of salt. Outside the 
walls of the town is an elegant monument, erected to the 
memory of the soldiers who were brought here and died of 
their wounds received in the battles of the three days in Oc- 
tober, 1813. No one can look upon the monument without 
calling to mind the great result of these three days of hard 
fighting, which has been denominated the " Battle of Nations," 
and which constituted one of the longest and bloodiest actions 
of the whole war ; in which were engaged one hundred and 
thirty-six thousand men on the side of Napoleon, and two 
hundred and thirty thousand on that of the allies, with sixteen 
hundred pieces of cannon, terminating, as it finally did, in the 
very streets of the city of Leipsic, in which cannon balls fell in 
showers. It will be remembered that in crossing the river 



190 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

at this place, in their retreat, a great number of the French 
army perished, and amongst the number the Polish Prince 
Poniatowski, a great favorite of Napoleon's, and whose 
bravery and devotion on that day saved him from being cap- 
tured by the enemy. A handsome stone tomb has been 
erected by the soldiers of his regiment, near the spot where 
his body was found, in a garden upon the margin of the river. 
Lutzen, in the same neighborhood, is another of those villages 
in Germany, which have been immortalized by being the 
scenes of great battles. Near this village, by the side of the 
high road, is one of those huge mysterious boulders, supposed 
to have been transported from the mountains of Scandinavia, 
which marks the spot where Gustavus Adolphus fell, in the 
midst of the battle of Lutzen, 1632, which is said to have 
been one of the most fiercely contested engagements recorded 
in history. Lutzen is also remarkable for a more recent bat- 
tle, fought on the 2d of May, 1813, between Napoleon and 
the allies. Near Wiessenfels, on the Saale, the next town 
which we reached on our day's journey, was the site of the 
great battle of Frederick the Great, in which he gained a 
most unexpected victory with an army of twenty-two thou- 
sand Prussians over sixty thousand French and Austrians, 
under Saubise, November 5, 1757. In the defile of Kippach, 
three miles from Lutzen, Marshal Bessieres was killed in a 
skirmish the day before the battle of May, 1813. So you 
will perceive that we have either been passing over, or in the 
immediate vicinity of fields which have been moistened with 
the blood of our fellow-men. The next town of consequence 
in this day's ride, was Weimar, the residence of the Grand 
Duke of Saxe Weimar, and the capitol of his dominions, with 
a population of ten thousand. It was at one time considered 
as the Athens of the North, being the residence of Schiller, 
Goethe, Wieland, Herder, and other men of genius and learn- 



A BUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 191 

ing. The house of Goethe, in which he died in 1832, is at 
present an object of great interest, and it has been proposed 
to purchase it with, all its contents, with the view of making 
the collection a national and public one. The house in which 
Schiller resided, is also pointed out on the Esplanade. Be- 
tween Weimar and Naumburg, to the south of the road, lies 
the field upon which the battle of Aurstadt, or Jena, was 
fought, so disastrous to Prussia, -in 1806. A monument has 
been erected on the spot where the Duke of Brunswick fell. 
The country through which we have been passing since we 
left Halle is very picturesque and beautiful, highly cultivated, 
and abounding in fine views, contrasting most favorably with 
the monotonous sandy plains which extend with very little 
variation from Vienna to Berlin — a distance of nearly five 
hundred miles. This is the most northern point at which 
grapes are cultivated, but the wine made from them is so 
sour as to be fit only for vinegar, or to manufacture into 
brandy. Naumburg is an industrious town of ten thousand 
inhabitants, beautifully situated in the valley of the Saale, in 
the midst of an amphitheatre of hills. One thing which has 
struck us as remarkable in this journey, is the great extent 
of time over which the period of harvesting is extended on 
the Continent. At the end of May the farmers had commenced 
harvesting their wheat in the south of Italy, and now, three 
months after, they are engaged in harvesting the same grain 
in this part of Germany. Wind-mills are everywhere to be 
seen on this road, which are used in grinding the wheat. 
Erfurth was once the capitol of Thuringia, but it now belongs 
to Prussia, is strongly fortified, and, as it lies upon the high 
road of Central Europe, is considered a place of much im- 
portance, although its population has shrunk to twenty-four 
thousand — not more than half of what it once possessed. 
It has a garrison of four thousand men. One object of inte- 



192 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

rest in this town is Luther's eel], in the Augustine Convent, 
which is preserved nearly in its original condition, containing 
his Bible, portrait, and other relics. He entered this convent 
as a monk, July 17, 1505, in consequence of a vow made 
fourteen days before, on the death of a friend who was 
struck by lightning at his side ; and here it is supposed he 
first studied the Bible — a copy of which he had not seen 
until he was twenty years old, when he met with one by 
accident. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, 
Erfurth was the principal place of the trade of a great part of 
Europe. A congress of sovereigns was assembled here in 
180*7, by Napoleon. Gotha, the next town which we reached 
before arriving at Eisenach, where we were to stop for the 
night, is the chief town of the Duchy of Saxe Coburg, is the 
residence of the duke, and has a population of thirteen thou- 
sand souls. It has a picture gallery containing some works 
of merit by the old masters, with a museum containing 
coins, medals, and Chinese and Japanese curiosities ; and the 
gardens and terraces belonging to the palace, and the boule- 
vards around the town, are agreeable promenades, the coun- 
try around it resembling a beautiful park. Grimm, author 
of " Correspondence," lies buried here. We did not arrive 
at Eisenach until past eight o'clock in the evening. It is the 
principal town of Thuringerwald, is clean, thriving, and in- 
dustrious, and has a population of ten thousand. The Castle 
of Wartburg overlooks it, the ancient residence of the Land- 
graves of Thuringia, and is remarkable as the asylum of 
Luther for the space of ten months, from May, 1521, to 
March, 1522, where he was conveyed by order of the Elector 
of Saxony, in order to rescue him from the dangers which 
were supposed, at this time, to surround him, and threaten 
his life. 

At an early hour on the following morning we repaired to 



103 

tlie railroad station, and took our places in the cars on our 
route to Frankfort. The first city of any importance on the 
Way is Cassel, the capitol of the Electorate of Hesse Cassel, 
and the residence of the Elector (who retains the title, 
though now there is no Emperor of Germany to elect). The 
old part of the town is situated on the banks of the river 
Fulda, the streets narrow and dirty ; but the new part is 
built upon an elevation formerly occupied as a fortress, and is 
airy and agreeable. The Elector has a palace, and there is 
also a museum and a handsome public garden around the 
town. In the public square of the town is placed the statue 
of the Elector Frederick, after whom it was named ; and to 
this prince it is said Cassel owes its principal collections of 
the works of art, &c. His wealth was acquired by trafficking 
in the lives of his subjects, whom he hired to the King of 
Great Britain to fight his battles in America and elsewhere, 
and who are well remembered for the part they acted in our 
revolutionary contest. But we witnessed the same morning 
a very pleasant contrast ]p this picture, when we took upon 
the cars very shortly after leaving Cassel, some forty or fifty 
Hessian emigrants, just starting on their way to America, in- 
tending to proceed to the Western States, to aid in subduing 
the forests in that fertile region — a much more seemly em- 
ployment than their forefathers were engaged in. They all 
appeared to be in comfortable circumstances, and were on 
their way down to Bremen to embark. One of the number, 
an intelligent young man, had recently come over from the 
States, having travelled through our country from Boston to 
New-Orleans, and was now on his way back to the latter city, 
where he intended to settle. Marburg, a town of seven 
thousand six hundred inhabitants, is situated upon the river 
Lahn. The University here was the first founded in Ger- 
many after the Reformation, in 1527. It has forty professors^ 
11 



194 



but not a great number of students. It has a good library. 
The Church of St. Elizabeth was begun in 1234, and is a 
very handsome and interesting Gothie edifice. It is con- 
sidered to be a specimen of very early purity in the pointed 
Gothic style, and is, at the same time, in a most perfect state 
of preservation. The Castle of the Landgraves of Hesse 7 
•which rises above the town, a structure of the chivalrous 
ages, is now a prison, and commands a fine prospect. The 
house inhabited by Luther and Zwingle during a religious 
discussion which they carried on in the presence of the Land- 
grave of Hesse, still exists. Giessen, the chief town of the 
province of Upper Hesse, is beautifully situated on the Lahn, 
and has eight thousand inhabitants. The University, founded 
in 1607, has an excellent library. A large barrack has been 
converted to the uses of learning, in addition to the build- 
ings of the University itself. Liebig, the chemist, is profess 
sor here. Nine miles from Giessen is Werther, the scene of 
the sentimental romance of the " Sorrows of Werther." The 
last considerable town before reaching this city is Friedberg^ 
belonging to Hesse Darmstadt. It has an old castle (which, 
by the way, are quite numerous upon this route), and two 
handsome Gothic churches — one in the town, the other in 
the castle. Near to this town are very extensive salt works. 

Frankfort, where we arrived last evening at nine o'clock 7 
and where we are most comfortably lodged at the Hotel de 
Russie, is a free town, and the seat of the German Diet. It 
lies upon the right bank of the Maine. It has sixty thou- 
sand inhabitants, of which five thousand are Jews. It is the 
seat of the great money kings of the Continent, at the head 
of whom stands the family of the Rothschilds. Two large 
fairs are held here, in spring and autumn, when merchandise 
is brought from all parts of Europe. The autumnal one 
commenced yesterday. The Third Continental Peace Con- 



A summer's TOUR IN EUROPE. 106 

gress was held there, at this time last year. The proceedings 
occupied nine days. The place of meeting was St. Paul's 
Church, which is capable of holding two thousand persons^ 
and which was thronged each day, and the result of this 
meeting appears to have given much satisfaction in Frankfort. 
The house in which Goethe was born, and the monument to 
his memory, are amongst the objects of interest to be seen 
here. Very few visitors fail to visit the exquisitely beautiful 
statue of Ariadne, by Danneker, in the Bethmann Museum. 
The Town Library, with more than sixty thousand volumes, 
and the Stadel Museum of Paintings, are also objects worthy 
of attention. The new cemetery contains some beautiful 
monuments, A Traveller, 



LETTER XXVIII. 

COLOGNE, September 2, 
From Frankfort to Cassel, on the Rhine, opposite to May- 
ence, (or Metz, as it is called in all the French and German 
maps,) occupies little more than an hour by rail road. Cassel 
is connected with May ence by a bridge of boats upwards of 
sixteen hundred feet in length, has a population of about two 
thousand five hundred, and being very strongly fortified, con- 
stitutes a tete du pont to the more imposing defences of the 
former, which is looked upon as one of the most formidable 
fortresses of the frontier, and has a garrison in ordinary times 
of six or eight thousand men, which is doubled if any threat- 
ening movement takes place in France, as has sometimes been 
the case. About four miles from Cassel, on the Frankfort 
road, on a hill of moderate elevation, is the village of Iloch- 
heim, around which, upon the sunny banks sloping down to 



196 A summer's tour In europiu 

the Maine, are the vineyards which produce the wine called 
Hock, a name which has improperly been given to most of 
the Rhenish wines. The garrison of Mayence is composed of 
Austrian and Prussian troops, under the arrangement of the 
German Confederation, and a governor and commander-in- 
chief of this force is selected alternately by these powers, who 
holds the office for five years. The population of the city is 
computed at thirty-eight thousand — and it is the principal 
city belonging to the Grand Duke of Hesse Darmstadt. Ex- 
cept the Cathedral, the foundation of which was laid in the 
tenth century, it has no public buildings of much note. It 
was the cradle of the art of printing, John Gensfleisch, called 
Gutemberg, the inventor of moveable types, having been born 
here, and a handsome monument to his memory has been 
erected, in a public square bearing his name, within a few 
years. From Cassel you are taken, in sixteen minutes, by a 
branch rail road to Wiesbaden, one of the celebrated water- 
ing places of Germany, and capitol of the Duchy of Nassau. 
It is the residence of the Duke, and the seat of his govern- 
ment, and has a population of ten thousand. Its growth and 
prosperity are principally attributable to its celebrated baths 
and mineral waters, which annually attract some fifteen thou- 
sand persons to it. To those who do not resort to it to par- 
take of its waters, or to join in the various amusements which 
it presents, a very short visit will suffice. An afternoon spent 
in walking through the shady groves, which are truly beauti- 
ful, with which the handsome public buildings erected for the 
accommodation of visitors are surrounded, a look into the 
halls containing the gaming tables, and an hour spent in the 
splendid ball-room, beautifully lighted up with half a dozen 
chandeliers, and filled with elegantly dressed ladies and gen- 
tlemen, (a large portion of the latter in military uniforms,) 
was quite long enough for our party — and we left it the fol- 



197 



lowing morning in a carriage for Biberich, to take a steamer 
in which to descend the river. Being detained here for an 
hour by the non-arrival of the boats, an opportunity was af- 
forded to take a look at the palace which the Duke of Nassau 
has at this place, fronting upon the Rhine, and commanding 
a fine view up and down the river, surrounded as it is by 
grounds most tastefully laid out, and which are liberally 
thrown open at all times to the public. Having been some 
weeks since upon the head waters of this noble river, at the 
foot of the Splugen, w T here it first issues from the glaciers of 
the Alps, and assumes its name, and passed through that 
wonderful cleft in the rocky mountain through which, it short- 
ly afterwards forces its way, the Via Mata, and continued 
along its course through the Grisons, until it turns off to- 
wards the Lake of Constance, through which it passes ; and 
having afterwards again come upon its banks at the old Ro- 
man city of Basle, where its waters have accumulated to a 
broad and expansive river, and continued along its banks until 
passing on below Strasbourg, we branched off at Heidelberg 
into Southern Germany — and now again returning to its 
banks, to pass down upon its broad current from Mayence to 
Cologne, through all that picturesque and beautiful portion of 
its scenery which has ever been the admiration of tourists, the 
anticipations of those of our party who had never before been 
upon it, were necessarily very much raised; for, independent 
of its being the largest river in Western Europe, the innume- 
rable historical recollections with which it is surrounded can- 
not fail to impart interest to every turn and point upon it. 
Looking back, too, to where it first issues from the Alps, to 
its course through the Lakes of Constance and Zellern, to 
where it precipitates its waters over the rocky ramparts at 
Schaffhausen, then, strengthened by the collected waters of 
Switzerland, with the influx, as is estimated, of three hun- 



198 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

dred and seventy glaciers, and upwards of two thousand 
rivers and streams of different sizes, we behold it here, 
strengthened by the important rivers, the Neckar and Maine, 
in all its wide expanse, passing onward to its ultimate desti- 
nation, the German Ocean. 

There are three separate lines of steamers, for the convey- 
ance of passengers, upon the river — the Cologne Company, 
the Dusseldorf Company, and the Netherlands Company. 
This, of course, produces much competition ; and, as the boats 
start at the same hour, trials of speed and dexterity of man- 
agement at the various stopping places are constantly dis- 
played : but the regulations as to the quantity of steam al- 
lowed, are so rigidly observed, that no fears of an explosion 
appear to be entertained. Two boats presented themselves 
for our choice ; we gave the preference to the Concordia, of 
the Dusseldorf line, over the Hermann, of the Cologne line, 
as being the largest and most commodious. Leaving Bibe- 
rich about eleven o'clock, we arrived at Cologne at half-past 
six — making the run in seven and a half hours. The river 
does not present any scenery of much interest until you ap- 
proach Bingen, where the rocky range of mountains com- 
mences, which is supposed by many to have, at some remote 
period of time, presented such a formidable barrier as to have 
dammed up the current of the river, throwing the waters 
back, and forming an immense lake, which covered all the 
valley of the Rhine as high up as Basle ; and that, by an 
earthquake, or some other great convulsion of Nature, a pas- 
sage was opened for it, through which it has since, by de- 
grees, worked its way, until the present bed of the river was 
formed. From Bingen down to Boppart, this struggle seems 
to have been continued to force its way through the moun- 
tain ranges. Before arriving at this great barrier, however, 
the traveller passes some of the finest vine-growing situations 



TOUR IN EUROPE. 199 

upon the river. The far-famed Johannisberg, the property of 
Prince Metternich, lies upon the right bank of the river ; and 
his estate has the reputation of producing the best wine that 
is made upon the Rhine. The princely chateau stands in the 
midst of the vineyards, presenting a most imposing appear- 
ance from the river, and commanding a very extensive view 
of it. In the beginning of the present century, it belonged 
to the Prince of Orange ; but, before it had been long in his 
possession, Napoleon gave it to Marshal Kellerman. At the 
close of the war, however, it again changed hands, and the 
Emperor of Austria presented it to his Prime Minister, Prince 
Metternich. It is said to be worth eighty thousand florins a 
year ; but, notwithstanding this, it appears that the prince had 
failed to -pay the taxes upon it for upwards of twenty years, 
and, in consequence, the Duke of Nassau and the people of 
the Duchy, in 1848, when Prince Metternich had to fly from 
Vienna, took possession of the estate and chateau, and hoisted 
the government flag upon it, with the intention of holding it 
until the arrears of taxes should be paid — very justly con- 
tending, that, if the poor man, who held but a small piece of 
land, was expected to pay his tax, the wealthy man should 
pay his also. This state of things continued until very re- 
cently, when, about a month since, the prince returned to his 
chateau, and was still residing there when we passed down 
the river — from which it was inferred that the difficulty had 
been, in some way, compromised. Another very valuable 
vineyard, in this vicinity — the Steinberg, at Erbach — is the 
property of the Duke of Nassau ; and the wine produced from 
it is esteemed quite as highly as the Johannisberg. The river 
in this neighborhood, before reaching the barrier at Bingen, 
attains its greatest width, being two thousand feet across, and 
presenting the appearance of a lake, having a number of small 
islands in it, upon some of which it is stated Charlemagne 



200 A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 

used to resort, when residing upon the river, to fish. Below 
Bingen, the lofty eminences along the river for a great dis- 
tance are studded with ancient castles ; most of them, how- 
ever, are reduced to a heap of ruins. The course of the river, 
through what is called the Rheingau, being from east to west, 
accounts for the excellence of the wine produced in this dis- 
trict, as the rays of the mid-day sun fall directly upon the 
vines, which, being sheltered from the north winds, naturally 
produce the best and sweetest grapes. The town of Caub, on 
the right bank of the river, is remarkable as the place where 
Blucher crossed the Rhine with his army on New Year's 
night, 1814. When the Prussians first came in sight of the 
river, from the heights above, it is stated to have drawn forth 
from them a simultaneous and exulting cry of triumph — this 
river having ever been, with the Germans of every age, an 
object of affection and reverence. The town of St. Goar, a 
little farther down on the left bank, lies in the midst of the 
beauties of the Rhine, and in view of some of its finest scenery. 
Immediately above the town rises the fortress of Rheinfels, 
the most extensive ruin of the kind upon the river. It was 
basely abandoned by the Hessian garrison, in 1794, on tho 
advance of the French revolutionary army, who blew it up, 
and rendered it useless. After passing Boppart, the next 
most interesting city is Coblentz, a beautifully situated and 
strongly fortified town on the left bank of the Rhine and 
right bank of the Moselle. It is the capitol of the Rhenish 
provinces of Prussia. Its extensive fortifications, connected 
with those of the impregnable castle of Ehrenbreitstein, on the 
opposite bank, occupied nearly twenty years in completion, 
and are now considered as the bulwarks of Germany and the 
Prussian dominions on the side of France. They are capable 
of containing a camp of one hundred thousand men. Coblentz 
is a free port, and carries on an active commerce with the 



A SUMMER^ TOUR IN EUROPE. 201 

Rhine, the Moselle, and the Lahn. In front of the church of 
St. Castor, at the very continence of the two rivers, stands a 
monument erected by the French in 1812, and bearing an 
inscription affixed to it by the French Prefect of the Depart- 
ment, to commemorate the invasion of Russia by the French 
under Napoleon. This inscription had not stood many 
months, before the Russians, in pursuit of the^scattered army 
of Napoleon, arrived at Coblentz, on their way to Paris. The 
commander, St. Priest, instead of erasing the obnoxious words, 
contented himself with the following sarcastic addition, which 
remains to the present time : — " Vu et approuve par nous, 
Commandant Busse, de la Ville de Coblence, Janvier 1, 1814." 
At Weissenthurm, on the left bank, is the spot where the 
French crossed the Rhine in spite of the opposition of the 
Austrians, in 1797, and an obelisk stands on the elevated 
ground in the rear of the town, erected to the memory of 
Gen. Hoche, who achieved that memorable exploit. Julius 
Ccesar, when leading his army against the Sicambri, seven- 
teen centuries before, is stated to have crossed the river at the 
same point. At Andernach, the mountains on both sides of 
the Rhine again approach the water's edge, and form a ma- 
jestic defile. Descending through this defile, the Seven 
Mountains, as they are called, rise high their lofty heads. 
They are the highest and wildest on the river, are of volcanic 
origin, and consist of lava, which is ejected through the rocks, 
and which forms the basement of the surrounding country — 
eruptions which took place, however, previous to the existence 
of any human record or tradition. 

The most interesting of the whole of this group of moun- 
tains is the Drechenfels, (Dragon Rock,) whose lofty precipi- 
ces rise abruptly from the river side, crowned with a ruin 
which has been celebrated by the muse of Byron. The view 
from the top of this eminence is most extensive and beautiful^ 



202 

and nothing can be more enchanting than the scenery, and 
every object which surrounds the voyager as he passes along 
the river at the foot of the Dragon Rock. After passing 
through this highly picturesque scene, there is little else upon 
the river to interest the traveller, except the city of Bonn, 
which is most advantageously situated, commanding a very 
fine view up the river towards the objects just described. It 
is the seat of a highly esteemed University, and has an ex- 
tensive library. 

On our voyage down the river, we passed two large steam- 
ers, crowded with emigrants, on their way to some of the sea- 
port towns in Belgium or Holland, to embark for the United 
States. They appeared to be in high spirits, cheering us as 
we passed. The introduction of steam navigation has given a 
great impetus to trade upon the Rhine. Their iron tug-boats, 
which are quite numerous, were constantly passing us, bound 
up, each with six or eight long tow-boats deeply laden with 
merchandise or coal, the latter article obtained upon the river 
Ruhr, a small stream which enters into the Rhine below Dus- 
seldorf, within the Prussian dominions, and in the neighbor- 
hood of Aix la Chapelle. The travel upon the steamers on 
the Rhine has been very great during the present summer, 
and the immense increase since the introduction of steamers is 
almost incredible. 

This ancient city of Cologne, from which I am now address- 
ing you, has not much in it to interest travellers, and the conse< 
quence is, that although great numbers pass through it annu- 
ally, very few take up their abode here for any length of time. 
It is a strongly fortified and walled town, with a population of 
ninety thousand, who carry on a brisk trade, by means of its 
connection by railways with all the principal cities of the Con- 
tinent. It was for a time in possession of the French, but by 
the treaty of 1814 it passed into the possession of the King of 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 



203 



Prussia, who is now adding to its fortifications by a high wall 
along the river in front of the city, with small towers and bat- 
teries for defence on that side. The object of most attraction 
to strangers is its immense Cathedral, which was commenced 
in 1248, but has never been completed, vast sums having 
already been expended upon it. For a time it seemed to have 
been abandoned, so great was the amount necessary for its 
completion that all hope of its ever being finished seemed to 
be given up ; but of late years the King of Prussia has made 
liberal advances towards it, and very considerable portions of 
the structure have been reared within the last twenty years. 
It is estimated, however, that five millions of dollars will be 
required to finish it according to the original design. The 
King of Bavaria has recently contributed five beautiful stained 
glass windows, which have been introduced into the edifice 
with very fine effect. 

We visited the Cathedral this morning, during the morn- 
ing service, and were much interested at the sight presented 
to our view, by the presence of several hundred children, male 
and female, of the public schools, attended by their instruc- 
tors, all joining in the prescribed services of the day— their 
numerous infantile voices, joined with the deep tones of a 
powerful organ, producing a most pleasing effect. The hotels 
at Cologne are, at present, crowded with English tourists, 
homeward-bound from excursions on the Rhine. In that at 
which we are located, the Hotel Royal, there are several cler- 
gymen of the Church of England, and amongst them, the 
Bishop of Gloucester, with his family. We had also the arri- 
val last evening of a distinguished party, the Duchess of Or- 
leans, with her two sons, the Count de Paris and the Duke de 
Chartres, the former a slender youth of thirteen years, rather 
tall for his age, the latter, a few years younger, of more robust 
appearance. As they alighted from their carriage and entered 



204 a summer's TOUR IN EUROPE. 

the hall of the hotel, the former had in his hand a small trav- 
elling bag, the latter a pet lap-dog. The Duchess is a tall, 
graceful personage, with a very pleasing and expressive coun- 
tenance. She saluted the master and servants of the estab- 
lishment, who were all in waiting to receive her as she entered 
the hall, with the utmost kindness and courtesy. She was 
from England, having been present at the family meeting on 
26th ult., at London, to celebrate with religious services the 
anniversary of the death of Louis Philippe, who died on that 
day twelvemonth, and was now on her way to visit the mem- 
bers of her own immediate family at Eisenach, in Saxe- 
Weimar. She had passed the Sabbath with King Leopold, 
at his summer-palace of Laeken, near Brussels. A portion of 
our party made a visit to Dusseldorf yesterday, to look into 
the gallery of pictures by modern artists of the Dusseldorf 
school. They found, however, but a limited number of paint- 
ings in the gallery, most of those recently executed having 
been sent away, or were in the hands of private individuals. 
"We leave to-morrow for Paris, by the way of Antwerp and 
Brussels. A Traveller. 



LETTER XXIX. 



PARIS, Sept. 9. 
You will perceive, Messrs. Editors, from the above-named 
place and date, that your travelling correspondent has re- 
turned, after a tour of four months, to this ever-attractive 
city of Paris, which, notwithstanding the political excitement 
that seems to be continually agitating it, has never-ending 
charms for travellers, as we found the hotels so crowded with 
strangers as to render it difficult to obtain lodgings. I wrote 



soa 



to you last from Cologne, and it only remains for me now to 
give you a short account of our journey from that city to 
Paris ; and as the route lays through countries abounding in 
historical recollections, both ancient and modern, of absorb- 
ing interest, no one can pass over it without recalling them to 
mind. 

Our first day's journey was to Antwerp, through Aix la 
Chapelle, Liege, &c.j a distance of one hundred and fifty 
miles. The first town of any size after leaving Cologne is 
Duren, containing about eight thousand inhabitants, and be- 
fore reaching it the road passes through a deep cutting of 
nearly, three miles in length, through the high grounds 
which separate the basin of the Meuse from that of the 
Rhine — a very high embankment across the low lands of the 
valley of the Erft having been previously necessary ; indeed 
the entire road to Aix required the overcoming of difficulties 
which would have appalled most engineers, and deterred 
them from attempting it — not only deep cuttings and high 
embankments being necessary, but in many places long tun- 
nels being required ; but it is through a region abounding in 
coal mines, which, stimulating manufactories of various kinds, 
gives employment to a numerous and industrious population^ 
which, united with the high state of perfection to which 
agriculture would seem to have been brought, both in this 
part of the Prussian territories and throughout Belgium, 
have imparted an air of improvement and prosperity in 
every direction. 

The city of Aix la Chapelle has a population of upwards 
of forty thousand, and although it has lost much of the high 
rank which it once held as a manufacturing place, it yet 
retains a very respectable character, particularly for its manu- 
facture of woolen cloths. Its mineral waters and baths are 
also a great attraction ; and the beauty of its situation, with 



206 



its charming suburbs and environs, render it quite attractive 
as a place of fashionable resort. Historically associated as it 
is, too, with the grandeur of Charlemagne, who died there, 
must ever render it an object of interest to all tourists. The 
tomb in which once reposed the mortal remains of this great 
man, is in the ancient Cathedral church, but the vault below 
is now empty, having been opened by the Emperor Otho, in 
997, who found the body not reclining in his coffin, as is the 
usual fashion of the dead, but seated on his throne, as one 
alive, clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in his 
hand, and on his knees a copy of the gospels. The crown 
upon his neshless brow, the imperial mantle which covered 
his shoulders, and various other relics which surrounded him, 
were, however, all removed, and afterwards used in the coro- 
nation ceremonies of the Emperors of Germany. The throne, 
on which the body of Charlemagne was seated, alone re- 
mains. Passing Aix la Chapelle towards Liege, the country 
presented still more serious obstacles to the construction of a 
railway ; but they have been overcome by the skill and per- 
severance of the engineers, though at an immense expense^ 
there being no less than nineteen tunnels in the Belgian part 
of the line alone, so that the road has been compared to a 
needle run through a cork-screw. Where the Prussian line 
unites with the Belgian, the road is carried on a bridge of 
twenty arches, one hundred and twenty feet high in the 
centre, over the valley of the Geul. The town of Verviers, 
the first of any considerable size in Belgium, has a popu- 
lation of twenty thousand, and is rapidly increasing, owing to 
the flourishing state of its cloth manufactories, which are 
said to produce second-rate ' fabrics cheaper than those of 
England or France. The Belgian army is clothed from the 
looms of Verviers, and forty thousand hands are said to be 
employed in the cloth manufactories in and around the town. 



A SUMMER'S TOUR "IN EUROPE.- 20'/ 

Liege is another thriving city, with a population of sixty-two 
thousand, which is steadily increasing. Its manufactories are 
very flourishing, consisting principally of armories, or foun- 
dries for the making of fire-arms, for which the place is much 
celebrated. The Walloon population of the town are a 
peculiarly industrious race, provident, self-denying, hard- 
working, cheerful, and even joyous at their labors. They 
work at home ; every family has its own smith's fire and 
anvil, and they may be seen at their labors early and late. 
Liege possesses many historical reminiscences and associ- 
ations. It was the scene of Scott's novel of " Quentin Dur- 
ward," in which the town and palace of Liege are said to be 
so graphically described, that the details are correct even at 
the present day. The most beautiful and picturesque part 
of the entire line of the road is to be found between Verviers 
and Liege, including the beautiful railway bridge over the 
Meuse, the undulating hills and valleys, rivulets and water- 
falls, tunnels and aqueducts, the varying landscape, and the 
constantly changing scenery, altogether presenting a pano- 
ramic view of a very uncommon description. 

After passing Liege the next town is Tirlemont, once a 
place of more importance than at present, from the station of 
which, the colossal Belgian lion, placed upon a mound on 
the field of Waterloo, is plainly visible. Louvain, on the 
river Dyle, is passed shortly after. In the fourteenth cen- 
tury it had a population of one hundred and forty thousand, 
which is now reduced to thirty thousand. Its present most 
important article of industry is beejyof which large quan- 
tities are exported. Malines (or Mechlin), a large town of 
twenty-five thousand inhabitants, is equi-distant from Lou- 
vain and Antwerp, and the road diverges here to Brussels 
and Antwerp. The town contains many curious old build- 
ings, and has manufactures of fine Brabant lace and linen ? 



208 



damask and silk, besides the thread lace, celebrated as 
Mechlin lace. The distance from Malines to Antwerp, fifteen 
miles, is run in about thirty minutes. Of Antwerp itself 
much might be written, but I must not trespass too far upon 
your columns. It lies upon the noble river Scheldt, and 
although sixty miles from the sea, the largest ships can 
reach its handsome and extensive quay and docks. It was 
the intention of Napoleon at one time, to have made it the 
most important sea-port and dock-yard on the Continent. 
Its trade, however, has declined of late years, and everything 
about the harbor denotes a falling off of its commerce. At 
a former period it had a population of two hundred thousand, 
which is now reduced to eighty thousand. Many of the streets 
are wide and handsome, with splendid mansions ; and there 
is no place in Europe where there are more rich and magni- 
ficent churches, embellished with elaborate works of art, 
including many of the_ best productions of Rubens and Van 
Dyke. The " Descent from the Cross," which has heretofore 
been considered the best production of Rubens, and which 
was in the Cathedral, has been taken down to be repaired, 
having suffered materially from the damp air of the church. 
The spire of the Cathedral is one of the loftiest in the world, 
being four hundred and sixty-six feet in height, and of most 
beautiful proportions, running up tapering into the clouds. 
The Merchant's Exchange is a curious specimen of Spanish 
or Moorish architecture, resembling, it is said, the piazzas of 
the Alhambra at Grenada. 

From Antwerp to Brussels is twenty-seven miles by the 
way of Malines, and is overcome by the rails in about an 
hour. This latter city, the capitol of the kingdom and seat 
of government, has a population, including the suburbs, 
which is now estimated at one hundred and seventy thou- 
sand, and is full of activity and of local attractions ; it has 



209 



not inaptly been called " Little Paris," and is certainly, in 
many respects, a miniature likeness of this great city. The 
French language seems to be universally in use, and sign- 
boards are almost invariably painted in that language. The 
park, with the palace and other imposing public edifices 
which surround it, together with the Place Royal, and the 
large and handsome squares, upon which are the principal 
hotels of the city, all in immediate proximity to each other, 
present a collection of attractions not often to be met with. 
They were, however, the scene of the principal combat dur- 
ing the revolution of 1830. The park was occupied by the 
Dutch troops, and the Belgians were posted in the Place 
Royal ; and the Hotel de Belle Vue, which stands upon the 
corner between the two, w T as the centre of the action, and 
was actually riddled with shot. A very handsome new 
arcade of three stories in height, and of great length, covered 
in with a glass roof not unlike the Crystal Palace in London, 
has been opened within a few years. The front of the lower 
story is of polished marble, with showy windows of uniform 
appearance, aud the niches filled with statues, altogether pre- 
senting the handsomest sight, when lighted up at night, of 
anything on the Continent, not excepting even the Palais 
Royal at Paris. The annual exhibition of Modern Paintings, 
which has heretofore acquired a high reputation, is con- 
sidered, this year, to be the very finest in Europe. They are, 
many of them, by artists of the Dusseldorf school. Brussels 
was so full of visitors, that we found it difficult to obtain 
lodgings on our arrival there. 

Leaving Brussels for Paris, which we did after remaining 
there two days, we had before us a ride of one hundred and 
thirty miles, which, however, we accomplished in about eight 
and a half hours — leaving at half- past eight in the morning, 
and arriving here at a little past five. The railroads in Bel- 
18 



210 A SUMMER'S TOtJR IN EUROPE. 

gium and France, are generally very well conducted, and on 
some of the routes you travel with great celerity ; the ex- 
pense is considerably higher than upon the roads in the 
Northern States of our Union — nearly double that of a like 
distance between New- York and Boston. The first city of 
note, after leaving Brussels, is Mons — a strongly fortified 
place near the Belgian frontier ; the facilities for laying the 
country around the town under water, by admitting the river 
Trouille, adds greatly to its defensive capabilities. Mons has 
a population of twenty-three thousand, and its trade derives 
great advantages from the numerous and productive coal 
mines by which it is surrounded, and which is exported in 
large quantities to the French metropolis, through the long 
line of canals connecting these mines with Paris. On quit- 
ting Mons, the road runs along the dyke of the Canal de 
Conde, and passes the village of Jemappes, celebrated for the 
victory gained by the French under Gen. Dumouriez and the 
Duke de Chartres (Louis Philippe), in 1*792, over the Aus- 
trians ; three coal-pits were filled with dead bodies of men 
and horses after the battle, and the result was to make the 
French masters of Belgium. A little further on is the 
station of the Belgian Custom-House, and we very soon after 
arrive at Valenciennes, the frontier town of France ; its popu- 
lation is twenty-one thousand five hundred. It is a place of 
considerable trade and wealth, and is strongly fortified, from 
its position on the Scheldt, by which it may be nearly sur- 
rounded with water. A fine view of the valley of the 
Scheldt may be had from the citadel. Froissart, the his- 
torian of the fourteenth century, was born here. Douai, a 
large and handsome city, of very remote origin, with a popu- 
lation of twenty-three thousand three hundred, is conveni- 
ently situated for carrying on its extenisve trade upon the 
river Scarpe, which communicates with the Canal of Sensee. 



211 

Here the northern railway divides into two branches — the 
one going by Lille to Calais, the other to Brussels. The 
town of Arras, on the same river with Douai, has a popu- 
lation of twenty-four thousand, and is a place of considerable 
trade. The Cathedral is a large Grecian building, and was 
only finished in 1832, the ancient one having been destroyed 
in the great revolution. The monster Robespierre, was born 
here. We next reach the city of Amiens, and are then 
within ninety-two miles of Paris ; here the road unites with 
the line from London by Boulogne. Amiens is an ancient, 
handsome, fortified city, on the river Somme, which is navi- 
gable here for vessels of considerable burden. The town, 
being intersected by canals, resembles some of the Dutch 
cities ; it is noted in history for the Treaty of Peace (which, 
however, proved a very short one) negotiated here in 1802, 
between France and England. Leaving Amiens, the road 
passes the inconsiderable towns of Breteuil, Creil, and Pon- 
toise, before reaching Paris. 

We find everything about Paris partaking of the same gay 
and animated character for which the city is proverbial, not- 
withstanding there have been some two or three hundred 
arrests within a day or two, of men charged with organizing 
a conspiracy against the Republic ; but a stranger would not 
have known it, so quietly are these things managed here, did 
he not find it recorded in the papers of the day. But there 
is, nevertheless, a deep feeling of uneasiness pervading the 
public mind ; and the election, the coming year, of a Presi- 
dent of the Republic, is the all-absorbing subject. The Con- 
servatives, or friends of order throughout the country, would, 
I think, prefer the re-election of Louis Napoleon ; but the 
Red Republicans, who aided so essentially in electing him, 
are now utterly opposed to his re-election ; but as they are a 
minority only, the friends of order, could they unite, would 



212 A SUMMERS TOUR IN EUROPE. 

ensure his return. But the great difficulty in their way is, 
that the Constitution forbids the re-election of the same per- 
son as President, and it may be difficult, if not impossible, 
to make the necessary change in that instrument in time to 
meet the exigency ; hence the great and increasing anxiety of 
the people, as the year 1852 draws near. The public mind 
is, in the meantime, diverted by the various spectacles which 
are got up for their amusement. Yesterday all Paris 
may be said to have sallied out to Versailles to witness the 
grand monthly display of the water-works at that place ; and 
I understand the immense galleries of the palace were so 
crowded, notwithstanding they are estimated, taking all the 
galleries together, to be six miles in extent, that it was diffi- 
cult to make one's way through them. 

There was also a balloon ascent somewhere in the vicinity 
of the Bois de Bologne, which took up with it a good-sized 
boat, with its entire crew, which also drew immense crowds 
from the city, as I should judge from the masses of men, 
women, and children, which filled the Champs Elysee, from 
the Place de la Concord to the Triumphal Arch, between six 
and seven o'clock in the evening, all wending their way into 
the city. This ballooning is all the rage just now, and to 
such perfection have they brought it, that they send up car- 
riages with horses and out-riders attached, boats with their 
crews, and the like ; and in one instance, I understand, a 
small cottage, with all its inmates, was despatched into the 
upper regions in this manner. The children, too, have 
caught the infection, and almost every child you see in the 
streets is engaged in efforts to inflate his tiny balloon. 

A Traveller. 



APPENDIX 



After closing the foregoing Letters, the writer, with his 
travelling companions, at the end of the month of September, 
passed over to London, in order to be present at the closing, 
as they had been at the opening, of that great wonder of the 
year, the Industrial Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. Several 
days were spent by them in again examining the immense 
collection of the objects of art and industry collected within its 
walls, from all parts of the world, the value of which has been 
estimated at the enormous amount of five hundred millions of 
dollars, — congregated, too, as they were, in a building which 
in itself has been universally considered as the wonder and 
admiration of the world. 

For several days immediately preceding the close of the 
exhibition, such was the desire of all who were within reach of 
the palace, to visit it, that the number of those daily present 
repeatedly exceeded one hundred thousand, independent of 
the great number who were in regular attendance as exhibit- 
ors, assistants, &c, in the various departments. And yet 
such were the vast dimensions of the edifice, that an equal 
additional number could have found room within it at all 
times. 

As the period for our departure for home had been fixed 
for the end of October, we decided upon availing ourselves of 
the two remaining weeks, after the closing of the exhibition, 
in making hasty visits into Scotland and Wales. In our war 



214 APPENDIX. 

down to Edinburgh, we passed a day or two at Melrose 
and its neighborhood, visiting those objects of surpassing- 
interest in its vicinity, Abbotsford, so intimately associated 
with the closing scenes of the life of Sir Walter Scott, and 
the ruins of Dry burg Abbey, where repose the remains 
of that great and good man. Edinburgh itself, ever an object 
of interest to all travellers, was more especially so to the wri- 
ter, from the great changes which it had undergone during 
the thirty years which had passed since his first visiting it. 
In that time its population has been doubled, and the new 
town, which has been not inaptly styled a city of palaces, now 
presents a succession of beautiful squares and spacious streets, 
where, at the period first named, were open fields and pas- 
tures. The population of the city now r numbers between one 
hundred and thirty and one hundred and forty thousand. 
Contrasted with its neighbor, the bustling manufacturing and 
commercial city of Glasgow, it may be considered as a very 
quiet place, being the residence of many men of leisure and of 
letters — one of the principal objects of industrial pursuit with 
its inhabitants being the printing and publishing of literary 
and scientific works. Of the public establishments, which 
reflect great credit upon this ancient city, there are two, one 
of long standing, and the other but just completed and going 
into operation, which are not surpassed by any institutions of 
the kind in Europe — the " Heriot Hospital," and the " Don- 
aldson Hospital." They are not, as their names would seem 
to imply, places for the reception of the sick and the suffering, 
but are institutions of learning, which reflect the highest credit 
upon the projectors, and their successors, who are so faithfully 
carrying out the benevolent intentions of their liberal bene- 
factors. 

Glasgow^, the largest and most rapidly growing city in 
Scotland, which twenty years since had a population of two 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 215 

hundred thousand, is now estimated to contain upwards of 
three hundred thousand ; and notwithstanding the laborious 
pursuits of the great mass of its inhabitants, it can boast of 
many beautiful public and private edifices, — amongst the 
former, the Cathedral, or High Church, is the most imposing 
of those erected for public worship. The University, and the 
buildings connected with it for the accommodation of the 
Professors, &c, are of great extent, occupying four quadran- 
gular courts, — and near to them is the Hunterian Museum, 
erected in 1804, from funds left for the purpose by the cele- 
brated Dr. William Hunter, which contains the valuable col- 
lection made by the Doctor in his lifetime, and which he 
bequeathed to the University at his death. This last named 
edifice is considered to be one of the most perfect specimens of 
the pure classic style of building to be found in Great Britain. 
The new Royal Exchange is also a splendid fabric ; it is of 
the Corinthian order. 

Having visited these two large cities, and their environs, 
and the season being too far advanced, even if our time would 
have permitted it, to make the tour of the lakes of Scotland, 
the only additional object of interest within our reach was a 
visit to Ayr, the birthplace of Robert Burns — and this, with 
the aid afforded by rail road accommodation, was but the 
Work of a single day. But a day thus spent amid the scenes 
which have been immortalized by the genius of that gifted 
child of nature, cannot be easily forgotten. 

Bidding a reluctant adieu to Scotland, we resumed our 
journey, taking the rail road to Carlisle, where we slept the 
first night; and at an early hour, the following morning, 
started again, by the same mode of conveyance, for Bangor, in 
Wales, which place we reached at an early hour in the after- 
noon. To view the great Tubular Bridge, in the vicinity of 
this latter city, was our principal inducement for making this 



216 APPENDIX. 

detour, before our final departure from England ; and we con- 
sidered ourselves abundantly repaid for our time and trouble 
in being afforded an opportunity of seeing and examining this 
immense structure, whick is there considered as the wonder of 
the world. The Tubular Bridge is situated but a single mile 
from what had previously been considered as one of the most 
wonderful results of human ingenuity and human labor, the 
great Suspension Bridge over the Menai Straits. 

The " Monster Tubular Bridge," as it has been christ- 
ened, was commenced in May, 1846, and it was finally com- 
pleted and opened for travel on the 5th of March, 1850. The 
total length of the bridge is one thousand eight hundred and 
forty -one feet, and the weight of the two tubes through which 
the railway track is laid is eleven thousand three hundred and 
sixty-six tons. The depth of the tubes varies from twenty- 
three to thirty feet, and their width for each track is fourteen 
feet eight inches. The whole length of the bridge is divided 
into four spans, the two principal ones extending from the 
lofty and massive tower erected upon what is called the Bri- 
tannia Rock, in the middle of the Straits, to towers on either 
side of it, the space between each of them being four hundred 
and sixty feet in the clear, and the spans extending from each 
of these smaller towers to the embankments being each two 
hundred and thirty feet. The bearing of the bridge on the 
centre tower is forty-five feet, on each of the intermediate 
towers thirty-two feet, and on the abutments twelve feet. The 
tubes resemble very much in appearance immense steamboat 
boilers. The upper parts of them are composed of plates of 
iron six feet long, and one foot nine inches in width, and 
twelve-sixteenths of an inch thick. The plates throughout 
the top of the tubes are carefully fitted, with their ends abut- 
ting each other, these joints being bound together by double 
covering plates. The bottom of the tubes, it is said, required 



A SUMMER'S TOUR IN EUROPE. 217 

the utmost deliberation on the part of the designer, and ex- 
traordinary care on that of the artizans employed in their con- 
struction. 

It was considered of great importance here, that the num- 
ber of joints should be as few as possible, and the plates as 
large as could be rolled, and the engineers finally succeeded 
in obtaining them of twelve feet in length, some of them 
weighing seven hundred pounds. The system of rivetting ob- 
served in constructing the bottom was entirely different from 
that in the top of the tube. The tendency of strain on the 
lower side is to separate or open the joints, on the upper side 
to force them closer together. In the one case, therefore, it 
was found necessary to bind them firmly together longitudi- 
nally, and in the other that the ends should be accurately 
butted against each other, and such covering plate introduced 
as would prevent these ends " buckling up," and sliding past 
one another. The floating of these immense tubes from the 
shores of the Menai, where they were constructed, to where 
they were to be elevated into their respective locations, and 
where it was necessary they should be at the exact spot at the 
moment of high water, was one of the most difficult tasks the 
engineers had to encounter, and it required all the skill and 
tact which Mr. Stephenson, the talented engineer-in-chief, 
could command, to accomplish it. What added greatly to 
the eclat attending this unparalleled exploit, is the gratifying 
fact, that although upwards of seven hundred men were em- 
ployed in the grand operation, it involved no loss of life. 

It is difficult to conceive of anything more wonderful than 
is presented in the construction and elevation of this immense 
iron fabric, — this master-piece of engineering ingenuity and 
mathematical adjustment, — and one is lost in astonishment 
whilst gazing upon a structure of such magnitude, scarcely 
being able to realize the scene that presents itself to the view. 
19 



218 APPENDIX. 

How to provide against expansion and contraction in these 
mammoth tubes, was a subject of much difficulty and doubt 
at first, but it was finally overcome by a very simple contri- 
vance. The tubes are firmly secured in the Britannia, or 
centre tower, whilst on either side, where they pass through 
the smaller towers and into the abutments, they travel upon 
rollers of cast iron, encased in malleable iron frames, a portion 
of the weight being also supported at the top on balls of hard 
gun-metal, working in channelled beams, and acting in the 
same w r ay as t%e rollers. These contrivances act like castors 
to the ponderous machine, and facilitate the movement neces- 
sarily attendant upon its contractions and expansions. The 
extreme variation in the length of the tubes, between summer 
and winter, has been found to be nearly twelve inches — a 
variation which must have proved destructive to the towers 
which support the fabric, had not some remedy been provided 
to obviate the difficulty. 

The total cost of the structure was six hundred and one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five pounds sterling. 

Having spent most of the day in visiting this great wonder 
of the age, and its scarcely less wonderful neighbor, the Menai 
Suspension Bridge, we entered the cars and passed with great 
rapidity over the intervening space between Bangor and the 
ancient walled town of Chester, where we remained overnight, 
and proceeded on to Liverpool the following day. 

On the 29th of October we embarked on board the splen- 
did American steamship Baltic, twin-sister to the Arctic, in 
which we had made our outward passage across the Atlantic, 
and notwithstanding the late period of the season, when ad- 
verse winds and boisterous weather might have been expected, 
in ten and a half days were safely landed at New- York, with- 
out the most trifling occurrence to mar the pleasure of our voy- 
age, and in due course arrived at our residence in Charleston. 



